Promotional items such as drinkware and tote bags still play an important role in an overall marketing strategy. However, mobile marketing is arguably the most interesting (and increasingly lucrative) area of any marketing strategy. This guide will discuss the growth of social media worldwide, and the tools that allow that user base to be targeted more accurately. It will also discuss the increase in mobile video content and the general growth in Internet marketing as a whole.
Global social media penetration is at 40 percent worldwide (and growing)
Social media has caught the world by storm, and is being used by an increasing percentage of populations around the world. Currently, social media penetration is around 40 percent worldwide, but that number is significantly higher in countries like the United States (81 percent), Canada (82 percent), the U.K. (76 percent), South Korea (74 percent) and Australia (73 percent). This rapidly growing market spends the majority of its social media usage on mobile devices, and the advertising and marketing opportunities are only now beginning to be utilized. The mobile social media advertising market is poised to be one of the most lucrative advertising venues, and companies should begin to ramp up their efforts in this area as soon as possible.
Geography-based marketing is increasingly popular
For years, Internet advertising on platforms such as Facebook and Google allowed advertisers to target their audience through geography-based advertisements. Back then, geography was defined by the “hometown” or “current city” of the user, which provided some insight into their geographic location, but did not provide up-to-date information about where the user was located. For individuals who moved without updating their profiles, or for individuals who travel frequently for work or otherwise, the geographic information was far less accurate.
Today, however, mobile devices are increasingly using GPS coordinates to determine a user’s location in real time (with the user’s permission). This provides a unique opportunity for companies who wish to target users who are currently in a particular geographic location to do so.
Micro-targeting is increasingly accurate and effective
Geography-based marketing is one (significant) element of a larger trend known as micro-targeting. Micro-targeting is the utilization of specific demographic and geographic user information for the purpose of more accurately targeting the right audience. Micro-targeting is a benefit for everyone involved. Users receive advertisements that are more relevant to their interests, while companies are able to communicate directly with users cost-effectively, by removing a significant portion of advertisements that would otherwise be seen by unqualified users. Micro-targeting will increasingly allow companies to be more cost-effective in their overall marketing efforts, and is quickly becoming a necessity in the mobile marketing world.
Video content is increasing viewed on mobile devices
Video content is one of the best places to reach users, and it is increasingly being viewed on mobile devices. In fact, more than 40 percent of video content on YouTube is now viewed directly on a mobile device. Creating video content that is formatted for mobile devices is still a relatively small market, but trends like this are set to make video content formatted for mobile devices a crucial part of any marketing strategy involving video.
Internet advertising growing significantly each year
Of course, it is important to remember that all of this growth in the mobile advertising market is taking place within the broader context of a growing Internet advertising market. Internet advertising has seen robust and rapid growth over the past few years, and that trend is only set to accelerate. This year, Internet advertising grew by 16 percent, and mobile advertising grew by an astonishing 47 percent. Most interestingly, however, is the fact that mobile advertising still only makes up 11 percent of the overall Internet advertising market. With all of the factors described above, that number is likely to increase significantly over the next couple of years.