Mobile marketing has come a long way since its beginnings. It got its start with the humble text message. Today it has grown to incorporate hundreds of marketing strategies from QR codes, to push notifications, to mobile apps. Of course the most important development in the mobile industry was the advent of the smartphone. In just five years the smartphone market penetration has gone from 25% to 75%. The smartphone changed virtually everything about mobile marketing. Instead of being limited to basic phone features capable of calling or texting only, mobile devices today are just miniature computers capable of doing just about anything.

Here’s a look at five more game changers that have developed since the smartphone.

Little guys

Smartphones have done a lot to level the playing field for small business owners. It used to be that only the largest corporations were seeing success with mobile. Today, small businesses with good ideas are capable of achieving the same success using mobile tools. Consider some of the most popular mobile apps. Many of them are developed by small, independent app designers. Today, “small” businesses have the same opportunity to succeed with mobile thanks to the many tools at their disposal.

Social media

One game changer that surprised everybody was social media. No one could have predicted just how big of an impact social media would have on mobile marketing. Today 4 out of 10 smartphone users report that they check their social media every day. Many smartphone users now access social media accounts from their mobile device only. With millions of Facebookers connected through mobile, brands are constantly discovering new ways to integrate social media into their mobile marketing campaigns. Social media and mobile marketing have become inseparable.

Rich media

Before there were smartphones, mobile marketers were limited to 160 characters of text. And that was it. Today mobile ads can include high resolution images, vides, links to webpages and other media content, links to mobile app downloads, etc…  Today marketers are limited only by their creativity. Each year brings exciting new developments in what mobile advertising can be.

Mobile search

Mobile search is vital to any mobile marketing campaign; however its importance is often overlooked. Mobile tools like click-to-call or click-for-directions make search especially huge for mobile devices. Mobile search is changing the way consumers find the information they need and it’s changing the way marketers advertise online.

Ad spending

Finally, a fifth game changer is the amount being spent on mobile marketing. A few years ago, no one could have imaged the amount companies would be spending on mobile advertising. The mobile marketing industry has truly exploded in recent years and as companies both large and small begin to see the opportunities, we can expect to see ad spend numbers continue to rise in coming years.

Source:  The Drum