7 Mobile Marketing Trends Your Business Should be Watching

This year's mobile marketing climate will be big, and business providers are readying their brands for innovative solutions.

In 2015, the mobile world experienced a massive boost. Enterprises, small businesses, and even solo entrepreneurs are powering solutions via mobile, engaging consumers at unprecedented speeds.

Mobile is essential to your marketing strategy now. You will need to take advantage of emergent trends before your brand falls by the wayside. Check out the top seven trends guaranteed to influence success in 2016, and craft a great, mobile-centric strategy guaranteed to win.

Trend One: Text Marketing as a Primary Platform

In 2015, consumers benefited from geo-location offers, SMS coupons and QR codes. In 2016, each will exist as a primary feature of many mobile marketing campaigns. SMS is coming first, and it’s revealing the buyer’s appreciation of integrative marketing.

Today, 70 percent of consumers consider SMS marketing to be a good attention-grabber. Buyers are warming up to text message marketing, and they’re pushing brands further down “innovation road.”

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Trend Two: Native Advertising as an Impactful Endeavor

Native advertising is expected to surpass all expectations in 2016’s marketing world. Native ads will soon rebuild trust between advertisers and buyers, increasing impact results in the marketing world.

Currently, mobile native advertisements are doubling the CTR of established display ads. They bypass ad blockers, reach big audiences and stay in context. In 2015, 73 percent of United States media buyers were invested in native advertising. Native ads, themselves, are expected to reach $21 billion by 2018.

Trend Three: Social Media Chat as a Major Communication Platform

Recent studies reveal that 46 percent of American smartphone users currently engage social media. Modern buyers thrive on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. If your mobile platform can host a simple social media platform, it can draw consumers into social media chat.

Facebook’s Messenger app has started a massive boost in brands engaging consumers via online messages. Similar to SMS, online messaging platforms offer direct purchase offers. 46 percent of smartphone users already interact with brands via social media. Pull them one step further.

Trend Four: Branded Text Voting will be Vital

Because marketing efforts are becoming more personalized, real-time text voting platforms are soaring. They’re soaring so high, they’re expected to be the business world’s primary SMS interaction initiatives in upcoming years. Check out this article on SMS voting, and work responsive, innovative voting options into your marketing plan.

Trend Five: The Internet of Things will Rule

The Internet of Things can’t be stopped, and it’ll soon run most of the consumer’s day. Already, mobile Internet is responsible for security systems, household appliances and hotel check-ins. In 2016, we’ll witness the dawn of integrative “smartphone store shopping.” Get ready for virtual reality product fittings, and prepare for the birth of full mobile integration. Right now, there are 5.2 billion smartphone users in the world. 60 percent of Millennials in America believe everything will be done via smartphone within the next five years.

Trend Six: Mobile Apps will Run Television Programs

They’ll at least navigate them. Big-name television companies are implementing app-controlled television browsers, on-demand services and even show-saving options. While television isn’t a major advertisement platform anymore, mobile apps attached to television will be before 2016 ends.

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Trend Seven: Mobile SEO will be Important

In 2015, mobile sessions averaged at 177 minutes per day. Consumers are making the smartphone a preferred search device, and providers like Google are reworking search engine capacity to reward mobile viewers. Your brand needs a mobile optimized website. Your marketing team need to take advantage of mobile SEO by outreaching to influencers in your space to share your best content and get your brand mentioned on high profile publications in order to boost its traffic and ranking.

As your company grows, it’ll need to accommodate for mobile web SEO. In fact, it’ll need to totally redefine itself based upon mobile web standards. Each trend above should be your company’s tool. 2016 will introduce major mobile innovations, and companies staying aboard will certainly thrive. Grow your strategy carefully, and check out this article to drive sales with mobile marketing tactics.

What's Next?

What do you think of what I've covered so far? Will you adopt mobile as your tool for marketing?  I would love to read your comments below.