Mobile marketing has grown a lot in recent years. In fact, it hit several key milestones in 2014. For example, a report by HubSpot noted that – Mobile commerce would make up 24.4% of total ecommerce revenues by the end of 2017. The same report also mentioned that – 44% of consumers want brands to send deals and coupons to their mobile devices. This clearly shows how trends in mobile marketing are changing.

With various technological advancements such as – the advent of wearables and mobile payment services like Google Wallet and Apple Pay, 2015 surely looks like a year that will bring forth some noteworthy mobile marketing. So, what are the trends and what you need to know about them? Go through the following pointers to get a better perspective about mobile marketing trends for this year and beyond.

1. Marketers will Invest in Mobile Apps and Mobile Web

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A number of companies are making a beeline for developing apps to target a large number of their end-users. At the same time, they are also looking forward to mobile websites, which are optimized for smartphones for the same reason.

By investing in apps relevant to their niche or relevant to their customers, they can definitely gain an edge over their competitors. It also holds true for responsive mobile websites, which can adapt to the small screens of mobile devices and yet offer the same features and functionalities as a website developed for the desktop.

The last few months were also significant in terms of wearables. With Apple Watch, Android Wear and Google Glass along with Pebble Time and fitness trackers on the market, the wearable market surely offers some lucrative investment opportunities for mobile marketers out there.

2. Content Marketing for Mobile will Gain New Ground

You must have probably heard of the cliché ‘content is king’. No wonder then, that content marketing has many takers all over the globe. It is not that no one has explored content marketing till date. But yes, things are going to change for the better with mobile marketers creating new strategies to use content marketing for mobile using a wide range of channels and targeting the ever-increasing audience on these channels.

An apt example would be that of mobile video, which is one of the most popular content marketing format. There are numerous short videos, which are doing the round on the internet. They are small in size, are informative, shareworthy and call for maximum user engagement. Hence, it comes as no surprise that video advertising is one of the mainstays of a number of social networking websites such as Twitter and Facebook. For instance, you can think of Vine videos or even YouTube videos, which have an excellent viewership and help marketers reach out to their target audience.

3. Location Based Services will be Prominent

Location based services on mobile platforms are taking new direction. They have been improvised upon and today, there are numerous location based services that offer a high degree of accuracy and reliability to the users.

Take the case of iBeacon, which is a location based service and can be used to market relevant products extensively. The root of all location based services is to understand – what is the value that the customers or target users will get (from the apps that use these services) and what is the marketer trying to achieve.

These services basically pass on relevant information to the end-users based on their current location. But the question is, how is geo-location tied to the behavior of buyers? Well, in that case you can think of several locations based apps, which offer detailed review of eateries, retail stores or entertainment zones. Consumers often rely upon these bits of information to take the final decision.

2015 will usher in a completely new era for location based services owing to the advent of wearables such as Apple Watch and Android Wear, which will relay information right on the wearers’ wrists.

4. Utility and Social Apps are Here to Stay

We are driven by technology at almost every point of our lives. Whether it is tracking our fitness levels, planning our budget, keeping a track of the weather reports, utility apps are clearly one of the most favourite categories of apps for mobile owners. Marketers target these apps and opt for earning revenues through in-app advertisements and purchases. The ads are created in such a way that they do now hamper the user experience in any way.

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Even social apps such as Instagram and Kik offer numerous opportunities to marketers to monetize. A clear advantage of such apps is that they can collect information about the users without intruding their personal space. This in turn helps marketers serve their customer base in the best possible way. Also, with more number of people spending time online through their mobile device to stay connected with each other, investing in social apps makes more sense.

5. Traffic from Social Media Channels

One of the trends on this list was a part of 2014, but it still reigns supreme in 2015. I am talking about various social media channels that have massive end-user base. Facebook’s ad revenue is the best example. The popular social media website offers marketers a lot of incentives. For instance, they can opt for paid advertising or promotions, which will be shown in the users’ newsfeeds. This leads to an increase in the business.

You can guess its prowess from the facts from a report, which states that –

  • The revenue earned for the full year 2014 was – $12.47 billion.
  • The daily active users on the social media website were 890 million on an average in December 2014.
  • 64% of Facebook’s monthly active users visit the social media website on a daily basis.

Also, investment in social media channels mean getting steady traffic on product and service pages and also, increased and active user engagement. So, even the paid social ads go a long way in getting the desired results for not only large but also small and medium budget companies.

Conclusion

These are some of the best mobile marketing trends, which are going to take shape in 2015 and continue to be on the top of the charts even after that. Do you have any other trends, which can be a part of this list? Feel free to comment your opinions. We are all ears!