Emergence of the social media has changed the contours of marketing, especially in the fast-evolving mobile market, transforming it into a two-way conversation that cannot be controlled by brand managers alone. However, not realizing the consumer aspiration and the changing market realities, many brand managers still focus on the technology part, ignoring the users.
What they need is a smart of mix of video, audio, search capabilities, social angle, live gaming, commerce, location-based services, payments, etc that make mobile apps more powerful. They also need to analyze the way of scheduling call-to-action around new product releases and related campaigns. We’ve grasped in the previous post that from a pure messaging standpoint, there is immense novelty of a mobile communication tool that companies can look to unlock.
Next important area is to socialize the content (or subject matter) and campaign with two-way conversation. As today’s social media has become quite seamlessly integrated into the daily chores of life, it is not really surprising to witness the gradual saturation of the social network market, if one goes by the figures.
Fine tuning marketing strategy for smartphones
There are no worry signs as yet on this count, but overall growth trajectory is experiencing some fatigue. Just to elaborate, more than 134.5 million people made use of social networks like Twitter or Facebook across any of the available technology platforms each month in 2010. That count is expected to increase by a little over 3%, in 2011, according to research agency eMarketer. However, you have to consider the fact that social networking has become the fastest-growing activity on mobile devices.
Brands must spot the trend and take this noticeable shift into account while devising their strategies. They need to fine tune their offering as consumers get in the mode of checking their Facebook accounts on the move and ignoring those brands and their messages not respecting or responding to the core of the Facebook realm, or very simply, direct interaction.
Get a fair idea of consumer mindset
Facebook is now a highly popular tool for conversing. And in a way, any ad campaign is also a form of conversations. This can present a great opportunity for blending the message and the medium. This coincidence can be contextual for any brand manager who knows how to integrate the oft-chaotic feedback, which comes pouring in from this new segment of smartphone-liberated users, checking their devices in stores, homes and offices.
By combining activity, location and time, the three key mobile data types, marketers can get a fair idea of consumer mindset, one also taking into account their shifting priorities and personas. A woman, for example, is in a different frame of mind early morning when getting the children ready for school, than a couple of hours when she prepares to leave for the office. Can a marketer make the message relevant accordingly? Relevancy presents both the challenge as well as the opportunity of the smartphone’s powerful data-collection capabilities.
