By Kalin Kassabov, a founder and CEO of ProTexting.com, a fast-growing enterprise-level text message suite of services.
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It’s hardly news that mobile phones and other devices are more and more widely used each year. Many businesses, however, still haven’t caught on to another, related trend: the massive growth of mobile marketing. Let’s look at why this is the ideal time to take advantage of this important marketing development.
OpenPR reports that the mobile marketing market is expected to reach $102 billion in 2022, with a CAGR (compound annual growth rate) of 22%. This is a remarkable amount of growth, especially in such uncertain economic times. In broad terms, mobile marketing includes any strategy that reaches customers using mobile devices, including smartphones and tablets.
Mobile Marketing Trends
The number one reason mobile marketing continues to grow is that more and more people are using mobile devices, especially smartphones. According to Statista, the number of smartphone subscriptions globally is currently over 6 billion and is projected to reach over 7.6 billion by 2027.
1. More Shopping On Mobile Devices
According to Statista, the percentage of retail sales conducted on mobile went from 3.5% in 2018 to almost double that, 6.9%, in 2022 and is expected to reach more than 10% by 2025. Of course, mobile marketing is about far more than simply selling products, but the fact is shoppers are getting more comfortable making purchases from their phones.
People take their mobile devices everywhere. Marketers have a captive audience with smartphone owners, who seldom go anywhere without their devices. Mobile marketing is the perfect way to communicate time-sensitive offers such as upcoming events, flash sales and in-store promotions.
2. Growth Of 5G
5G technology is a kind of mega trend in the mobile communications industry that allows for quicker downloads, more efficient communication and support for emerging augmented reality and virtual reality games and other content. Global News Wire projects that the 5G services market, which includes commercial as well as consumer usage and various IoT applications, will reach $1.87 trillion by 2030. This could allow mobile marketers to engage with customers faster and with more engaging tools.
3. More Video Content
Videos have been exploding all over the internet. One of the major sub-trends in video is the popularity of short videos on apps such as TikTok. Mobile marketers are tapping into this trend with video ads and short educational videos. It’s also possible to send customers videos via MMS (multimedia messaging) as long as they’ve given permission.
4. Location-Based Targeting
Targeting customers and prospects based on their location in real time isn’t new. However, local businesses are increasingly learning the value of targeting people who are in the vicinity. Statista projects that ad spending on location-based campaigns in the United States, which was $21.4 billion in 2018, will surpass $32 billion by 2023. With technologies such as geo-targeting and geo-fencing, it’s possible to send messages or display ads to people who are nearby. For example, a restaurant could send current specials to a customer in the area.
How To Take Advantage Of Mobile Marketing
As mobile devices get even more popular, we can expect mobile marketing to continue growing as well. Developers are always coming up with new apps and features that allow marketers to engage with people in new ways. Basically, anything that can be done on a mobile device can be incorporated into marketing. The following are a few ways businesses can tap into this growing trend.
• Mobile-friendly websites. All websites now should be responsive, which means equally accessible on all devices. Another option is to have two websites, a dedicated mobile site and one for laptop/desktop users.
• Marketing through apps. Many businesses have dedicated apps that allow customers to stay engaged. Apps may include coupons, games and push notifications.
• SMS marketing. This works similarly to email marketing. Customers must first give permission for businesses to text them. Then, messages can be used for promoting products and services, confirming appointments, sending polls and surveys and many other purposes.
• Mobile ads. Google, Facebook and other advertising platforms allow advertisers to specifically target mobile customers.
Mobile marketing is sure to continue growing in 2023 and beyond as smartphones and tablets get ever more popular. Businesses can tailor their mobile strategy to suit their customers and industry. As with any type of marketing, it’s important to test your results and adjust your approach as necessary.
