The influence of mobile devices in our daily lives is expanding on a year-on-year basis. From the advent of shoppable social ads to 5G networks, new mobile technologies today consistently contribute to the way we shop, consume information, and interact with others.
After all, consumers spend no less than five hours on their smartphones daily. From browsing the internet to making payments, many activities happen on mobile.
Naturally, marketing techniques through mobile devices are also evolving. An Ericsson Mobility Report predicts a 25% increase in mobile traffic by 2025. In this article, we will discuss five mobile marketing trends you should know about:
1. Reaping the benefits of geolocation-based advertising
It is not a secret that mobile devices track your location. Each time you download a new app, it requests your permission to track your location. Geolocation uses built-in GPS in mobile devices to accurately show where the device and the user are located in real-time.
Even though you can disable the feature in some apps, it is impossible to leverage some apps’ full potential unless you leave the geolocation app tracking active.
The “Weather” feature, for example, in Apple phones, can’t share personalized weather updates without accessing your location.
Another prominent example is Uber that needs to know precisely where you are to connect you with the nearest driver.
Geolocation tracking has great use in marketing campaigns. It can be used for presenting hyper-personalized ads and push notifications, relevant content, and tailored promotions. If a business owner knows where you are, it can send you targeted ads based on your location.
For example, Nordstrom integrates geolocation into the customer experience by sending push notifications to customers near its physical retail stores, reminding them of several items in their abandoned shopping carts that can be bought now.
DSW, a shoe store company, uses the technology to send product recommendations, information on bestselling items, and reward points from sales associates as soon as a customer walks into a DSW store.
Nudging the customers with relevant content on mobile just because they are near the store can help businesses get a leg up against the competition. No wonder location-targeted mobile ad spends are expected to surpass $32 billion by 2023.
2. The rise and rise of mobile audio marketing
It is true that smartphones and tablets offer many visual opportunities for businesses. However, they often overlook using mobile audio for marketing purposes. That is a mistake since listening to mobile devices’ content is an essential factor to consider in target audiences.
For example, many music-streaming services such as Spotify and Pandora follow freemium and ad-supported models, which means there is immense marketing potential via audio
With 19% of users streaming music on a smartphone and 11% on a tablet, businesses should be wise to take advantage of this market. They can target specific demographics – measure and target ads in the audio domain
One particularly booming area is podcasting. Research says 51% of Americans now listen to podcasts using their smartphones on-the-go or while in their car. The news genre, specifically, has performed well during the pandemic.
Combine that with the increasing popularity of content types, and you have yourself a convenient platform for delivering engaging audio ads to a range of audiences.
eMarketer predicts the number of podcast listeners will touch 115.6 million in 2021, and its advertising spend will expand from $863 million in 2018 to $1 billion next year!
3. Leveraging Google search ads to help find new apps
Despite the introduction of superior mobile browsing functionalities, the mobile app market is growing rapidly with no end in sight. Hybrid monetization models, including in-app purchases and in-app ads, have gained popularity from a marketing perspective.
News outlets, productivity companies, lifestyle retailers, health and fitness brands, and restaurants tend to do well in app form. In 2019, mobile accounted for more than two-thirds of digital ad spending at 87.06 billion
Americans spend 50% of their time online on mobile apps. So if you already have a mobile app or your customers are clamoring for one, go for it! While app stores remain a popular way to find new apps, search has also become a significant source for app discovery.
Google recently updated its algorithm to showcase mobile apps (and the specific content within them) in search results.
For instance, if a backpacker flies to São Paulo and needs a place to stay for one night, he heads to Google search to look for “hotels in São Paulo,” and finds an app that lists local hotels hostels. Because he is a frequent flyer, he decides to download the app and book his stay quickly.
That means if your app is optimized correctly, your target customers will be able to find the app more quickly on Google, and you would not have to rely on the searches happening on any of the app stores. Prompt app downloads through search ads such as social ads, banner ads on websites, video ads, and more.
4. Enabling mobile search via voice
Google reports users visit 1.5 billion locations every month because of something they came across in search results. In fact, there has been a 2.1X YOY increase in mobile searches for “stores open now” since 2015
Don’t be surprised when we tell you 76% of consumers who searched for something nearby end up visiting the place, and 28% of those mobile searches lead to a purchase. So, it is clear that physical and online shopping experiences need to work as one connected unit.
That is why a multi-channel marketing strategy has become so huge in the past few years. But what has caught everyone’s attention is voice-activated search. Stone Temple research found 57.8% of consumers used voice search in 2019.
Just because your customers are not using voice search yet, it doesn’t mean you shouldn’t embrace this marketing trend. A mobile device is not like a desktop. One is more social and less formal on mobile phones. The same logic is applied in voice search.
An increasing number of customers use voice functionality in mobile phones to make their shopping lists and make purchases. That shows you must optimize your mobile site for voice searches. Take help from an SEO agency but consider the difference between a search that is spoken and a typed, and account for deeper search intent and context.
5. The surge of new payment methods on mobile
The mobile payments market has undergone a massive transformation in the past few years. An increasing number of stores and services worldwide are rapidly integrating mobile payment apps such as Apple Pay, WeChat Pay, Google Pay, and more.
Interestingly, the mobile payments market is predicted to be worth $4691 billion by 2025 thanks to the changing daily commerce, growth in online retailing, and adapting lifestyles.
The technological advancement in mobile devices has enabled on-the-go fund transfer and POS at retail terminals. That means mobile payments of various kinds are being utilized for diverse operations such as purchasing movie tickets, upgrading smartphone games, ordering takeaways.
Most notably, in social commerce, the integration of shopping baskets will allow them to purchase items through social networks directly from mobile. Think about Pinterest, Facebook, and Instagram?
A well-planned, multifaceted marketing strategy is vital for educating customers about mobile payment services’ potential, thus leading to more significant customer engagement. That can happen through event-triggered email marketing, campaign-specific communications, or giving away incentives such as loyalty cards or gifts.
Creating own payment methods and currencies (such as UC credits) to keep customers engaged is another way to go about it.
Wrapping it up
Now that you know about the trends creating a buzz in the mobile world, creates a top-notch strategy that works for your business. Don’t be afraid to be creative or do something innovative. Mobile will continue to influence customer behaviors. Tap on that platform’s potential asap!
