Mobile Marketing Trends in 2024 and Beyond
Year after year mobile devices continue to play a significant role in today’s digital marketing. In fact, there are many reasons why mobile gained such an important status in this industry. It provide direct, real-time access to customers, allow businesses to reach a large audience effortlessly, and offer multiple opportunities for engagement throughout the day.
Mobile marketing is an umbrella term that encompasses different ways in which marketing can be performed via mobile devices. That includes mobile programmatic, in-app ads, mobile video, QR Codes, social media marketing, and many others. If you are considering mobile for your next marketing campaign, here's a catch: some mobile marketing methods are now outdated, while others are gaining traction and worth your attention due to their rising popularity. Let’s find out which mobile marketing methods are trendy on the market in 2024 and beyond.
Personalized Marketing
Users like personalization. Messages that are based on user data, behavior, and preferences spark more interest than regular plane text. Mobile personalization uses user-specific data like demographics, interests, behaviors, and location. This helps advertisers build stronger relationships with users by treating them as individuals. Basic personalization includes utilizing a user’s name or syncing messages to their local time for better timing.
As an example, take Pinterest. It takes into account the interests of the users according to their saved pins and sends personalized Pin suggestions via push notification on mobile devices.
Location-Based Marketing
Geofencing and geo-targeting deliver timely, location-specific ads to nearby customers, improving the relevance and immediacy of marketing messages. It can significantly improve campaign efficiency by reaching audiences based on their current location.
Adello’s geotargeting solutions are optimized for viewability (vCPM) in campaigns, ensuring ads are only paid for when seen by users, which reduces wasted ad spending on invisible impressions. Leveraging audience segmentation tool Adello's “Audience Class” uses data on interests, which can further optimize Return on Marketing Investment (ROMI).
Gamification
Gamification was on the rise in 2020 and still continues to be an engaging way to advertise a product. Incorporating elements like awarding points for purchases, hosting challenges and contests, quizzes, and puzzles can make marketing campaigns more fun.
A taxi service Cabify, for instance, offers their customers an interactive mini-game in their app when they are waiting for the taxi driver.
Mobile Commerce (mCommerce)
Mobile shopping continues to rise, with features like one-click purchasing, mobile payment options, and app-based loyalty programs becoming standard.
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Lush offers an mCommerse website with an Instagram-style feed of products. It has a strong "search" functionality, and a clear value proposition. Lush makes it easy for shoppers to browse, categorize, and buy products. The site's simplicity and product-focused design ensure visitors have a smooth shopping experience.
Augmented reality (AR)
AR is still trendy. It provides an immersive, interactive experience that captures users' attention in a way traditional ads can’t. The audience can engage with products virtually — whether trying on clothes, visualizing furniture in their home, or interacting with 3D objects — all from their smartphones.
Last year, Coca-Cola launched the #TakeATasteNow campaign, a great example of how mobile ads can work together with digital out-of-home (DOOH). Smartphone users could interact with AR visuals on screens in real-time and scan a QR code to receive a digital Coke Zero bottle on their phones, along with a voucher to redeem a real bottle.
Video Ads
In the last couple of years, smartphones have become the main device for consuming video content online. There is no secret that video attracts our attention more than a static image.
It is important to remember, that social media are overloaded with video content. That is why it is important to stand out with video ads and pay attention to brand safety.
There are many effective ways to utilize video in mobile ads. One of the most popular of them is social media video content. A great example of this is Ryanair. The marketing department is not hesitating to make funny videos using memes, and trending audio clips to connect with younger audiences. That makes such videos viral on TikTok, YouTube (Shorts), and Instagram.
User-generated content (UGC) on mobile
Reviews, photos, videos, or social media posts created and shared by customers about a brand or product, rather than by the brand itself — all of these are user-generated content.
Brands can encourage their customers to produce such content, get an instant promotion for their product, and increase the brand or product recognition. One notable social media campaign that utilized UGC is Starbucks’ seasonal marketing on TikTok. Starbucks used a mix of TikTok user-generated content and employee videos to highlight seasonal items, such as their popular pumpkin spice drinks in the fall. That is how Starbucks leveraged social proof and FOMO (fear of missing out), creating an engaging and relatable experience for viewers.
Mobile advertising trends tend to last for several years. Most probably, the listed trends will be still relevant not only till the end of 2024 but several years later. Utilize these trends for the long-term marketing strategy. Also, recent years have shown, that sometimes new marketing trends can appear very suddenly, such as Metaverse in 2021 or generative AI integration in 2023. That’s why keep your eye on the upcoming tendencies on the market, and stay tuned!