Seven Ways to Boost Your Mobile Marketing in 2016
In the marketing world, predictions are everything. Having exclusive knowledge about the mobile industry is important. It prepares your brand for the best, and it protects you from the worst. Great, high-tech solutions have been introduced to smartphones in 2015. The advent of wearables, haptic technology, 3D advertisements and Google’s advertisement reworks all affect the mobile climate, and several emergent trends promise a bright year ahead.
Below are the seven biggest ways you can capitalize on 2016’s growing mobile space. Pay close attention to the market, because it’s always changing.
Tip One: Shift to Progressive Advertising
Native advertising might be old to mature economies, but mobile markets are just stumbling into it. This year, increasingly progressive advertising formats will emerge. Mobile video and in-app ads, specifically, are expected to make an impact.
Similarly, the market share surrounding banner ads is still big on emerging markets. Progressive ad formats are catching up, increasing mobile advertisement research in 2016.
Check out Honda’s mobile video ad:
Tip Two: Get Ready for Bigger Mobile Budgets
Mobile data has skyrocketed in recent years. Last year alone, mobile data traffic increased by 77 percent across emerging markets. While South East Asia and Eastern Europe have been driving growth from recently affordable 3G handsets, American markets are benefiting from the boost.
Constant mobile phone use grants incredible connectivity opportunities. Now, marketers can reach audiences anywhere, and at any time. Mobile marketing is a lucrative business, and Clickky reveals mobile marketing budgets have grown by 15 percent since the start of 2015. Hundreds of apps hit the market daily, raising the competitive bar.
See how mobile ad spend is still lagging behind mobile media consumption below.
Tip Three: Plan for App-Centric Platforms
A Flurry, U.S. study revealed through Mobile Marketer states mobile users spend more time on mobile apps than television. Apps are popular, accounting for nearly 80 percent of the mobile user’s mobile time.
App usage is only growing, and innovative marketers are dominating app-based advertisement. As a testament to the growth, Google’s Senior Vice President of Search announced the company had indexed over 100 billion deep links in apps as of last October. Prepare your mobile platform for in-app advertising, because industry leaders are paving the way.
Here is a great example of how Zappos is taking advantage of App deep linking in their mobile Facebook ad campaign:
Tip Four: Drive Information with Location
In 2016, a majority of retailers will adopt beacon technology. Location-based beacons, when powered through a competent mobile marketing strategy, will drive mobile marketing. In 2016, location-based services will have a significant impact on the consumer, enabling brands to shoot out micro-targeted offers.
Check out Taco Bell’s partnership with Waze mobile app to entice nearby drivers:
Hyper-relevancy is an end-game goal for most marketers, and modern marketing automation networks are taking the mobile movement by storm.
Tip Five: Prioritize Engagement over Installation Numbers
Sure, app download numbers are incredibly important. Unfortunately, emerging mobile markets are a little backdated where retention and engagement are concerned. More than 80 percent of mobile marketing campaigns taking place in emerging markets focus on clicks, rather than engagement metrics.
Mobile penetration is changing this power balance, however. Keeping a customer will always be cheaper than finding a new one. In 2016, mobile marketers will adopt engagement-heavy strategies. App developers, in particular, will throw away previous number-pumping tactics. The app store’s front page might be important, but it’ll receive less attention as app marketers view customer engagement as a priority.
Tip Six: Streamline for Increased Online Visibility
In-app search will greatly increase a brand’s online visibility. In 2016, Google App Indexingwill make deep linking a viable mobile marketing strategy. Google App Indexing boosts app navigability, contextual search and user experiences. The platform begins this year, so make sure you’re ready to embrace the change.
See how Trulia uses Google App indexing to their advantage:
Tip Seven: Don’t Prioritize Mobile Wallets
Mobile wallets, while picking up steam, are still far from perfect. Credit cards will be rendered obsolete by the mobile wallet, but 2016 won’t witness any big jumps. Despite big progress by Apple Pay and Samsung Pay, consumers are still sticking to their leather-bound pocketbooks.
For now, mobile wallets are a niche trend. While you should always consider the future of mobile-based payment platforms, placing too much stock in mobile wallets will lead to a loss of resources. Wait for retailers to upgrade terminals, and wait for big-name market players to develop further features, new security systems and usage options. Also, check out this article on text verification’s place in the fraud detection world to see how great providers are assisting mobile security.