How mobile marketing is advancing rapidly

How mobile marketing is advancing rapidly

The effects of the COVID-19 pandemic have revolutionized global commerce. Mobile marketing, which has been on the rise for several years, has seen a steep rise in adoption during 2020. Marketers need to stay up to date with these trends as they accelerate into the latter half of 2021. 

How COVID-19 is changing human behavior

COVID-19 has proven to be the most significant life and society-changing event of our times. Within one short year, we have all shifted our behavior – not always consciously – to new ways of living, being, and doing due to the disease and its various fallouts. Many of these behaviors were already on the rise, and the pandemic accelerated their ascendency. Others have been more of a surprise. The five main tenets of the new normal are:

• Reduced trust and confidence: The pandemic has fostered a belief that all people and places carry an implicit threat. People are ever more on guard about who they deal with and how – whether individuals or companies. Decisions about purchases and other daily actions are loaded with more anxiety and are thus taken with far more care and time than was previously the case.
• The health economy: Preoccupation with health, safety, and hygiene permeates every part of society, from government to individual households. Every business needs to show that they make health a priority, regardless of the specific products and services they specialize in.
• The increased importance of the home: Enforced isolation has made the home the center of life and even work. People will start to spend more on making their homes ready for the increased time they spend there. 
• The changing role of authority: The pandemic has polarized views on institutional authority. While dependence on authority has increased under enforced lockdowns and tighter regulations around travel and commerce, there is also a rising uncertainty about the competence and intentions of authority figures. This trend could go either way, depending on the handling of the COVID crisis. On the whole, increased dependence on government, corporations, and collective opinion and behavior may drive private and commercial behavior.
• Accelerated virtualization: The crisis has sped up the move towards the virtual world that was already well underway before the pandemic began. Communications, education, work, and commerce are all becoming ever more centered in the online world. Mobile devices are becoming more critical as access nodes to the virtual arena, equipped to enable every aspect of virtual life from socializing to consuming and more.

WSI New Media is taking brands to the next level

With these trends in mind, leading digital marketers, WSI New Media Marketing among them, are adapting their approach to digital marketing, especially social media marketing and mobile marketing. Here are some of the main trends we are watching this year:

Internet of things (IoT) app integration

The combination of IOT and mobile apps will have a marked impact on most aspects of commerce. Everything from production management to the retail experience is transforming due to the integration of devices with the virtual realm. Easier online shopping, automated checkout systems at actual brick-and-mortar stores, home automation and wearables, are all transforming the commercial landscape irreversibly.

Beacon technology

Beacons are among the latest developments in proximity marketing and location technology. These Bluetooth devices transmit information to devices in their vicinity, making location-based search and interaction more straightforward. From the marketer’s point of view, beacons improve offline attribution with GoogleAds, assist with data gathering that can be used to access and target local markets and facilitate out-of-store marketing. 

Mobile commerce

Sales from smartphones are likely to dominate eCommerce this year. In addition, more and more consumers are turning to mobile apps to do their shopping. Mobile devices also facilitate social commerce, closely linking mobile and social media marketing. As people turn increasingly to virtual shopping, it is mostly via their mobile devices that they will be accessing their products and services.

 Artificial intelligence (AI)

The emergence of search tools such as Siri and Alexa are the most obvious examples of how AI has penetrated the mobile arena, but they are just the beginning of developments in this regard. AI is likely to affect app and mobile device development at every level, resulting in smarter, better performing technology that adapts more quickly and more accurately to consumer tastes and demands. 

WSI New Media Marketing is a full-service digital marketing company in Greensboro, North Carolina. Contact us for expert help with your SEO, social media marketing, mobile marketing, and other digital marketing tactics and strategies.