Mobile marketing has never been bigger and it shows no signs of cooling down. We are constantly seeing the rise in mobile usage and brands do not sit idle. Mobile search inquiries have surpassed desktop ones, which marks a seismic shift in the online, marketing and the business world. The spending on the mobile ads alone is expected to reach 65 billion by 2020, suggesting that mobile marketing is also far from hitting a plateau. Here are some trends that are poised to steal the show:
1) Medium and the message
Messaging apps, like WhatsApp, Messenger, and Snapchat, have changed the marketing game. They enjoy immense popularity with customers, which shifts their expectations and preferences. Companies and brands are now under pressure to use them to interact with people on a regular basis. In other words, messaging platforms have evolved to powerful customer service tools and means of establishing meaningful relations with the consumers.
2) Influencer marketing
Nurturing a wide, devoted following is one of the chief tasks in the mobile world. There are a couple of ways to go about this and influencer marketing is certainly one of the newer developments. Namely, companies that want to make a name for themselves tend to strike partnerships with micro-influencers. These are referred to as people who have between 10,000 and 100,000 followers on a major social network. The advantage of this approach is that you gain a chance to tap into niche audience and drive engagement.
3) An omni-channel strategy
The benefits of multi-channel marketing are as clear as day, but now the omni-channel emerges to rock the mobile ecosystem. In a nutshell, this strategy gravitates around stellar mobile experience that retains its defining characteristics regardless of the platform or device. Consistency is the key to coming up roses because a content that flows in many directions can easily be diluted. Another mainstay of omni-channel marketing is the art of evoking an emotional connection with consumers.
4) Mobile optimization
The bulk of content today is consumed via mobile platforms. Consumers want nothing short of a seamless user experience, which means that pages and websites need to be well optimized and rendered for mobile screens. Poorly-designed, popups-flooded content has no chance of capturing the attention of the audience. It has to be instantly accessible and pages must load within a few seconds. Hence, offering impeccable navigation and authentic experience is the only way to thrive in booming mobile landscape.
5) Points of loyalty
Loyalty programs have found fertile ground in the area of mobile marketing. They encourage customers to perform a certain action by offering rewards. Furthermore, they collect points and earn something of value as a result. For instance, with a visa debit gift card you can prompt a consumer to subscribe or pre-order a product. Of course, the reward must be relevant, and a user should be able to track the progress nice and easy. Many companies thus decide to develop their own mobile apps and take loyalty programs to the next level.
6) User-generated content (UGC)
The importance of quality content cannot be stressed enough. Moreover, it must be mentioned that content can be created by users themselves. Indeed, user-generated content is gaining more and more traction in recent years. It seems that consumers appreciate the chance to participate in campaigns and see their creations winning public recognition. Besides, brands are in a position to acquire authentic content, engage people, and amplify their messages.
7) Shopping on the fly
Nowadays, the majority of internet users have at least given online shopping a try. Purchasing on the go has its advantages, but for businesses, it is time to step up the game. They have to figure out a way to blend a traditional eCommerce and mobile in-store experience. The lines are blurred and reliable Wi-Fi is now an integral part of the services provided on the premises. This brings us to the point that consumers always crave real-time information on stock availability and product selection.
The cutting edge
The era of mobile marketing is underway and the desktop is taking a back seat. The physical and digital dimensions converge and give rise to the brave new marketing world. In it, everything moves and everyone browses. This is both a daunting challenge and something that opens up a set of new exciting opportunities. There is no doubt that in order to get ahead of the pack, business owners and marketers must stay on top of prominent trends and employ new channels of communication and digital marketing tools.