Online marketing: Smartphones are becoming increasingly important
In the course of digitalization, the face of advertising has also changed drastically in recent years. Online marketing has become [...]
July 25, 2018
In the course of digitalization, the face of advertising has also changed drastically in recent years. Online marketing has become one of the most important flagships of companies and brands. The primary goal is to increase awareness and thus also sales. Anyone who does not engage in online marketing these days will disappear among the competition and will find it difficult to continue to be successful in the future market. It is no longer enough to address consumers only via the computer. Those who limit themselves to this and do not use mobile optimization will lose potential customers.
The smartphone has become an important tool in the online market. Hardly anyone is still on the move today without a mobile device. That's why it's hardly surprising that mobile marketing has become so interesting for companies.
New media are unstoppably changing our lives and our communication behavior. According to the latest Zenith Mobile Advertising Forecast, 66 % of people in 52 markets worldwide will own a smartphone in 2018. In highly developed industrialized countries, the penetration rate will be as high as 80 to 90 %.
In Germany, 50 % used a smartphone in 2014, in 2015 it was 56 % and according to a Bitkom study, in 2017 it was already 78 %. In 2018, 81 % of Germans are expected to own a smartphone. In advertising-relevant target groups, we are talking about complete coverage.
The rapid growth in mobile usage will continue in the coming years. Mobile data volumes will increase fivefold by 2020. Already by 2018, 80 % of global Internet usage will be via smartphones and tablets.
No matter where we are, the cell phone has become a constant companion. At home, at work, in our free time, and on the road all over the world. We spend around 2 hours a day online with our smartphones, and on average there are around 28 apps on our devices. The smartphone has become an important helper in everyday life. In a survey, 100 % said they use it to make phone calls, 90 % use the smartphone as a camera, and as many as 79 % use it as a search engine. Then came statements such as reading the news, listening to music or using social networks.
There are also impressive figures for usage time. Smartphones and tablets account for two-thirds of today's total media usage time. The desktop computer is far behind here with only 35 %. According to a study by the German Federal Statistical Office, 81 % of the roughly 62 million Internet users used cell phones or smartphones to go online in 2016. 69 % used laptops or notebooks and 65 % desktop computers.
By the way, in terms of usage time, mobile is even more clearly ahead: Today, almost two-thirds of all media usage time is already spent on smartphones & tablets (65 percent) - and only 35 percent on desktop computers. And the boom in mobile usage will be unstoppable in the coming years. By the end of 2018, 80 % of global Internet usage is expected to be via smartphones or tablets. The volume of mobile data sent via smartphones and tablets is expected to increase fivefold from 2016 to 2020.
Almost 80 % of all Germans use a smartphone, so over 2/3 of all inhabitants in Germany could be reached with mobile marketing. But only a fraction of this opportunity is reached, because mobile marketing is not yet very established. Especially location-based mobile marketing is only little used. But this is exactly where the decisive advantage over regular online marketing would lie.
The potential for brands and companies to reach their customers in a tailored and targeted way via the smartphone and thus create a higher identification with their own brand is huge. For this purpose, a targeted and comparatively inexpensive customer advertising and customer retention is possible with an individual solution, such as a responsive website or an own app.
Mobile marketing refers to a special form of marketing that aims to address users via mobile devices. One of the main goals of online marketing is conversions. Internet users should become customers or at least registered users when visiting a website. Another term in this area is the customer journey, i.e. the customer's path from the first contact with a brand to conversion. A prospect becomes a customer.
The growing number of smartphone users must be accommodated, which is why marketing and advertising must adapt to this trend. For marketing, smartphones are digital all-rounders with various possible uses such as advertising medium, dialog, service or shopping tool. Mobile marketing must follow suit.
A first step in mobile marketing is to set up the company's own website in such a way that it can also be easily displayed on mobile devices. This basic prerequisite must be created. Only then can mobile ads be launched, for example, which then redirect the customer to the mobile website or a landing page. Of course, this must then also be set up for use with mobile devices.
Corporate communications and advertising strategies must adapt to current developments. Websites must be geared to use with mobile devices. (Design of web banners or the sending of vouchers in the form of codes via SMS or e-mail to customers).
Already in 2015, the share of search queries made via mobile devices exceeded queries made via computers for the first time. Mobile marketing had ended its niche existence.
Google also offered a new search algorithm for mobile search queries for the first time in 2015. New marketing measures have been developed for users of mobile devices, and existing measures have been optimized for access via smartphones and tablets. One example is Responsive Design, which ensures that websites are optimally displayed on different devices.
The flourishing mobile marketing sector will continue to be of immense importance in the coming years. Especially for the younger generation, the smartphone is indispensable, i.e. for the most promising target group in the marketing sector.
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Sebastian Lochbronner
86830 Schwabmünchen
Germany