For most people, their mobile phone is their lifeline. Some of you may be reading this from a mobile device, many will check your mobile phone at least once while reading this post and a few may even a share this via their mobile phone to a social media account or attach it to an email. But somehow mobile seems to have slipped through marketers reach in the past year.
Marketers have yet to take advantage of all mobile has to offer- therefore they aren’t putting mobile first. From its technology, to the data it collects, to the access it gives you to customers- mobile is the marketer’s Achilles heel.
It’s time for marketers to reconsider how mobile is used in their strategy.
Mobile Needs To Be Personal
Mobile had a pretty uneventful year in 2016, well that was until Pokemon Go exploded onto the scene. The success of Pokemon Go caught most by surprise, but if it taught marketers anything, it is that mobile users want an interactive and personalized experience with mobile content.
So how can you apply this to you everyday mobile campaigns?
By rethinking how you look at automation. Automation has been an amazing tool for marketers but just because you are automating processes does not mean personalization should come second. Automation can still be versatile. But that means you need to start using all that data you are collecting to form segmented lists. When marketers begin combing data with automation, they will take the guesswork out of what they think someone wants in their inbox into what people actually want. The best part is automation can ensure the right people get your content! Automation and data go hand in hand to ensure you are creating a targeted, personalized campaign that delivers great results.
Here is how you can segment different groups in your mobile email, ads, and SMS campaigns.
- Use behavior triggered messages.
- Segment people based on the interactions you had with them through mobile, email or SMS. Did they open the message? Did they click on links?
- Use data to figure out how your product helped each audience list solve their problem and make sure to share that information.
- Send information that relates to their experiences with the mobile message, product or brand.
When it comes to mobile, brands need to understand how they can use personalized storytelling to help solve problems through mobile ads, email and SMS messages.
Location Is An Important Piece
Mobile location data is the link that marketers have been looking for to understand online and digital behaviors.
The rollout of beacons throughout 2016 was supposed to help marketers understand how analytics, localization and offline behavior all go hand in hand but many marketers weren’t sure how to use all the data they received or the beacons they were using were left in pilot mode and never taken to the next level.
Location data is powerful. It always has been, but in 2017 we now have the technology to turn that data into real information -like helping marketers understand shopper’s habits and what offers actually get people into the store to spend money. This is huge, and it’s a problem that marketers aren’t utilizing this technology to the fullest.
We are still living in a mobile-first world- mobile is not going anywhere, and the data you gather will only become more extensive and a more important component in achieving results. The location technology we have helps bridge all the unknowns when it comes to figuring out what people are doing with the digital messages they received on their mobile devices to the actions they take while offline.
How The Super Bowl Is Tapping Into Mobile
The first national event of 2017 that marketers can utilize mobile will be Super Bowl 51 in Houston. It’s been reported that spectators watching the Super Bowl in Houston’s stadium expect to have good cell phone service to help them snap, selfie, go live and chat but how will mobile affect the people watching at home?
First off, Fox is planning to stream the game for free via their Fox Sports Go app and on the Fox Sports Go website. This gives people without a cable subscription or TV a chance to watch the big game. And better yet Fox will air local commercials from 170 affiliate stations in addition to national commercials. Fox knows that most people watching the game via the free live stream will be watching from their mobile devices which means local ads are essential, but it won’t come at the cost of missing some of the much anticipated national commercials everyone is looking forward to.
Mobile also allows the Super Bowl to go Social. According to Salesforce research done before Super Bowl 50….
- Female Super Bowl viewers are 1.3 times more likely than men to use Facebook while watching the game
- 29% of men plan to use Twitter
- 31% of viewers 18-24 plan to use Snapchat during the Super Bowl
- 21% of Gen Yers plan to use pictures and video platforms during the game
- 89% of viewers ages 18-24 plan to use smartphones during the game
- 82% of viewers will use smartphones as TVs to watch the Super Bowl
- 73% of viewers plan to use at least one device in addition to TV to watch the Super Bowl
If you’re a brand, you don’t have to shell out 5 million dollars for a thirty-second ad this year. You can get involved in the game by utilizing mobile device campaigns. Run ads that correlate with the Super Bowl and are targeted at mobile devices on Sunday from 5pm-11pm. Create Snapchat filters or provide some behind-the-scenes footage of the Super Bowl (or how your team is watching the Super Bowl) from your account. Engage in conversations on Twitter- and don’t forget to engage with other brands as well (having a well-timed Twitter reaction to an ad or Super Bowl moment can do more than a highly coveted ad spot). People will be watching the game, but they will also be picking up their mobile device to talk about it!
Measure ROI
Marketers are expected to increase their spend on mobile ads by 45% this year for a total of $45.95 billion, according to eMarketer. Now more than ever marketers have to figure out how to measure mobile. The data that comes from mobile provides marketers with both personal data about their consumers and helps them understand where consumers are coming from.
If you do not measure mobile, you can’t brag about mobile’s success or more importantly fix something that might be going wrong. (Check out how our dashboard can help you do just that here)
Wrap It Up
Marketers must not only talk about this mobile-first culture but live it. Mobile is not a sub-digital channel it is the digital channel of now, and we will only see this continue to rise as better technology, like smart homes, VR and AR become more common in our everyday lives. As marketers, you don’t want to wait until these are mainstream to figure out how they can impact mobile strategy. Get a better grasp on mobile today so you will be ready for the next Pokemon Go moment-or create one yourself!
Want to read more content? Check out this blog post Why Social Likes Email here.