2019 has brought with it, innovations and disruptions that have impacted the world of mobile marketing. As leading players continue their battle for dominance, we’ll continue to see advances in augmented reality, voice technology, social commerce, mobile video, and more. Add to that the opportunities created by the rollout of 5G and we’ve got a newly supercharged mobile landscape.
DEVELOPMENTS OVER THE LAST 18 MONTHS
Mobile Video
The popularity of video cannot be denied, regardless of the device used to view it. In 2018, smartphones became the dominant channel on which people watched online video, crossing 50% for the first time. In addition, mobile is predicted to account for over 70% of the growth in spending on online video advertising. Thus, the big player struggle for dominance in mobile video.
Early efforts from Verizon, Comcast (Xfinity), and others found little success in the arena. That being said, as we close out 2019 and move into 2020, major brands will continue to invest heavily in mobile video. Examples of this already happening are Instagram’s IGTV and Facebook’s Watch. The company sees these channels as potential drivers of growth but are still fighting to present both platforms as more than just social channels, as sources of original content.
Voice Technology
According to Adobe Analytics, American consumers’ ownership of smart speakers like Google Home or Amazon Echo was almost 50% by the end of 2018. The growth in smart speaker adoption is increasing the use of voice technology and forcing marketers to figure out how to best leverage this channel. As people become more comfortable interacting with voice technology, we’ll see a parallel increase in the predictive capabilities of the smart tech.
As voice technology evolves, experts predict we’ll go from simply using the device to order things to have the device remind us to make purchases. Our smart home assistants will identify the brand we previously used, ask if we want to make the same purchase or try a comparable product, and will find where we can buy the item for the best price. These advances will require marketers to tap into their creativity to lure customers away from competitors.
Social Commerce
The original goal of social commerce was to attract consumers and then drive the traffic to an online store. In the last 18 months, we’ve seen a shift to a more native journey as social channels have opened their platforms to one-click shopping experiences directly on the app. Gartner found that almost two-thirds of brands they analyzed had recently adopted social commerce strategies. We’ll continue to see brands move away from using social channels simply for acquisition efforts and towards more convenient, on app commerce.
Augmented Reality
Augmented reality (AR) has become a key element of mobile ads and social platform shopping and is predicted to develop into an $83 billion market by 2021. The major development coming about is AR moving out of native apps and onto the mobile web. This broader access will allow smaller brands that can’t command having a widely used app to disconnect their AR campaigns from larger platforms like Facebook and Google. Maintaining high levels of performance and functionality will be key and something to watch as we move forward.
5G Mobile Network
The 5G ecosystem is expected to see steady expansion this year and beyond. While the 4G mobile network opened doors to augmented reality, virtual reality, more powerful video streaming, etc., 5G will allow even more mobile capabilities. Faster downloading abilities will allow marketers to make more use of interactive ads that offer consumers a richer experience prior to committing to a purchase.
The ability of 5G to more quickly process data will amplify marketers’ ability to personalize content and engage in real-time ad targeting. It will also be a catalyst for further evolution of connected devices such as wearables, speakers, and cars. And game companies will be able to offer more appealing demos of their games. The 5G mobile network presents a major opportunity for the development of higher quality mobile content and the ability to better engage target audiences.
WHAT REALLY MATTERS?
More than 85% of Internet users access the web with a mobile phone. With all of the new technologies constantly impacting the way we live and work, you may be asking your self which of the mobile marketing trends actually matter. It goes without saying that the brands that most successfully adapt to the changing landscape will stay ahead of their competition. Consistent and persuasive mobile experiences will be key to success in a mobile-first world. Here are some trends to stay on top off as we finish out 2019.
Mobile Ad Spend
Mobile advertising spending will continue to grow at a rapid pace. According to eMarketer, mobile ad spend is predicted to exceed 131 billion dollars, U.S., by the year 2022. Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, and other social media platforms will continue as the dominant mobile channels for ad spend. Brands should not only ensure that mobile ads are part of their strategy, and in budgets, but should also look to artificial intelligence resources to better personalize their advertising campaigns.
Video
As we mentioned above, video continues to grow in popularity and many studies have found that companies are benefitting from the integration of video into their content strategy. The key is to dial into the channels that offer the best return on investment and it may take some testing for each brand to establish which channels will provide the best results for their organization.
Mobile video ad spend is predicted to increase to almost $25 billion by 2022. As smartphones continue to be the device of choice to watch video content, the need for high-quality mobile video will increase. We’ll also see an increase in the use of vertical video layouts such as Instagram’s IGTV.
Voice search
Home assistant devices that utilize voice technology have become incredibly accessible for a wide range of consumers. In fact, Comscore predicts that more than half of searches will be voice-based by 2020. At the same time, voice search capabilities continue to become more sophisticated and more predictive meaning that brands are better able to personalize their messaging to segments of their target audience. The evolving channel of voice search will become a major marketing tool in the very near future.
Augmented reality
What better way to deliver a unique and exciting customer experience than with augmented reality? This emerging technology allows the most innovative marketers to create memorable and relevant customer experiences. Brands will continue to explore how they might use AR to create richer interactive experiences by bringing to life their products and services. Companies that invest in opportunities to integrate AR into their marketing strategies will, indeed, gain a competitive edge in their industry.
Artificial intelligence
Artificial intelligence, the technology wonder behind many of the trends we’ve already discussed, impacts the brand-customer relationship. AI and machine learning allow brands to better understand their customers by tracking and analyzing the entire buyer’s journey. This knowledge provides the foundation for a personalized approach not only to marketing but also to building relationships with consumers. We’ll continue to see a crossing of paths between AI and mobile marketing in the quest to provide more relevant and accurate solutions to consumer pain points.
CONCLUSION
Designing content for mobile devices with a mobile-first approach will allow brands to stay on top of consumer expectations of an excellent mobile experience. Admittedly we’ve only scraped the surface of mobile marketing trends. That being said, we have at least delved into the core developments of the past 18 months and kept a focus on major trends to watch moving forward.
Video
Social Commerce
Voice Technology
Augmented Reality
Artificial Intelligence
5G Networks
The team at Strategy Driven Marketing can’t wait to see how these mobile marketing trends continue to improve and reshape the world of marketing. We’d love to deep dive into your business to better understand how SDM can help you utilize the latest marketing techniques to offer a user experience your customers will love. We’ll listen, ask a lot of questions, and create a marketing plan uniquely tailored to your brand. Contact us today to get started!
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