With worldwide market potential, smartphones in commercial settings are booming like never before. When one out of every two U.S. adults has Internet access in their pockets, it’s crucial for companies to catch onto mobile app marketing trends to tap into the wireless consumer base. But between apps, ads, and E-wallet transactions, where should a company start?
Before diving into strategies for upping mobile conversions, let’s take a step back and look at the facts: Mobile users are three times more likely to check email on a smartphone, People trust mobile reviews, Mobile ad revenue has quadrupled since 2009 (well past $24 billion), Purchases on tablets, phones, and desktops are roughly equal Mobile payments and QR codes are becoming the norm, Text ads and mobile coupons receive mixed consumer reviews
Another major plus with mobile consumerism is that every transaction, click, and page visit generates what the tech industry calls “Big Data.” With the ability to locate customers, learn what they like, and see what they buy, marketing companies are meeting head-on with smartphone users.
Even with these mobile app marketing trends in mind, companies would most likely take a step back and think: “Okay, smartphones are in. How do I use them to make money?”
One goal for business is to increase the customer experience in terms of variability and ease of transaction. E-wallet apps like Apple Passbook and Square are slowly taking over bulky tri-folds stuffed into back pockets. Starbucks, for example, generates 10 percent of its revenue through smartphone transactions, otherwise known as “frictionless commerce.” Starbucks has its own app, but that doesn’t mean other companies can’t create channels to online accounts to help ease the buying process for customers. Besides, consumers enjoy finding new ways to waste money.
Does a silicon sand distributor need an app? Probably not. Innovative companies like Starbucks (for purchases) and Dominos (for wasting time between deliveries) often take a whirl in the app world, but the money isn’t where the apps are at. Instead, a lot of ad conversions are generated through gaming app popups and mini commercials. On YouTube, for example, the average user has to sit through a half-minute video about something completely unrelated content-wise from the video. Why? Because you will sit there and watch it.
Tapping into app ads is targetable like with paid social media. Foursquare, for example, recently expanded its local business self-service ad system to allow marketers to generate customer clicks and discoveries. With 33 million users, this is definitely something to look into. This is just one of many fresh mobile app marketing trends available to businesses who don’t want to spend an entire quarter’s revenue on a branded app.
You already know that social media is accessible, affordable, and easy to get into to help promote a company’s campaigns. These are benefited through consumer, phone-friendly services like scannable QR codes, text sales alerts, and deal Tweets. Registering a QR is easy and allows companies to put deals on receipts and products, thus wrangling back previous customers. You can also have email and newsletter send-outs to keep clientele interested in your company. Though these methods are useful for generating sales, the underlying factor as to why mobile marketing is growing is because people are beginning to trust it. Yelp, arguably the most popular review, rating, and mapping app on the market, allows people to quickly search out a storefront from their smartphones on the go (but not while driving). Top customer reviews will pop up, and based on these reviews people will often decide right then and there if it is worth the drive. What the Internet says is undying and crucial for a business.
Mobile technology accesses location-based marketing schemes, or a way for marketers to make a splash in the endless online ocean. Based on location, a person can type “food” into one of countless apps and review/price-ranked listings will appear. In order to optimize for mobile commercialism, companies need to focus on building internal infrastructure to handle it. This includes tailoring websites for mobile domains (one out of every two customers closes a page on their phone if it isn’t formatted for mobile use), collecting a spree of quality, honest reviews, and other mobile app marketing trends.
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