If you are an avid digital marketer, you are probably wondering what the next monumental thing could be for digital marketing like Facebook and pay-per-click ads were in the past. Here’s a hint: it can be held on your palm. That’s right; the next biggest digital marketing evolution has already arrived in the form of mobiles.
As most users are ditching their old, cheap cell phones for smartphones and tablets, a new era of handheld devices is replacing desktops and laptops. Most digital marketing campaigns are still focused on ranking first on Google, or generating as much web traffic as possible. Meanwhile, the mobile revolution is changing the game for digital advertising on a slow but steady pace. If you are still skeptical about including mobile marketing in your online promotional campaign, here are several reasons why you really should:
1.Mobile Users Surpass Desktop Users
Between 2013 and 2014, the number of mobile users surpassed the number of desktop computer users globally, according to statistics provided by comScore. In the U.S., the predominant number of users who browse the web are on mobile, and not on a computer. So, if your digital marketing campaign is not targeting mobile users, you are losing out on a large and highly promising market.
2.People Consume More on Smartphones
Not only are consumers using mobile phones more than desktop computers, they are also consuming digital media more on mobile platforms. According to comScore data, a whopping 86 percent of American consumers spent more time on a smartphone browsing apps, and only a measly 14 percent spent time on a desktop surfing the web. In addition, smartphone users claim to use their favorite apps nearly every day. For digital marketers, these habits provide lucrative opportunities for targeted advertising and to create more exposure for products.
3.More and More People Use Smartphones to Shop
According to comScore, four out of five consumers now shop on a mobile platform. More importantly, 84 percent of smartphone users employ their devices when shopping at stores, and as much as 90 percent use smartphones for activities such as comparing say, iPhone price rates, before making the final purchase. About 40 percent of in-store consumers use smartphones to browse three or more channels. Obviously, these consumer habits open up incredible opportunities for multi-channel marketing.
4. Mobile Conversion Percentage is Higher
Compared to activity on desktops, 70 percent of mobile search queries result in an action online within an hour. Conversion rates for mobile users are about three times higher than for desktop or laptop users. This high conversion rate is partly due to the fact that mobile users browse sites on the go, and are likely to take action on a thought than laptop or desktop users, who usually browse only out of curiosity. Basically speaking, mobile users are certain buyers.
The above statistics are not overlooked by savvy big-time marketers like the retailer Target. In fact, advertisers are investing millions of dollars in the mobile market, a figure that reached a record of 220 million just this year. So, if you are a small business or a startup, don’t overlook mobiles.
