Mobile trends for 2016: Convert customers with mobile

For the first time ever, Mobile is set to surpass print in US Media ad spend. The implications of this trend of the near future are huge, and the necessity to keep up has marketers around the world evaluating and reevaluating their media strategy, budget and how they can strategically get ahead in this era of mobile dominance.

 

Here are some of the most essential mobile trends for 2016 to help prepare the digital strategy for the year ahead.

 

1.      Mobile First → Mobile Only

 

As Larry Page, co-founder of Google Inc. observed: “We are no longer in a mobile first world, we are in a mobile only world.” We live in a world where our devices are constantly within arm’s length; we seek our mobile devices for answers, means of connecting with loved ones and friends around the world, and for entertainment to pass the time. The reality of mobile’s potential and its impact on marketing in 2016 cannot be understated.

 

2.    Increased Consumption: Mobile media time is now greater than desktop and this trend will continue.

 

In 2008, marketers made a bold prediction: in 2014, mobile usage will overtake ‘fixed’ or desktop usage. Today, as evidenced by the chart below, we see that this prediction has become a reality.

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Putting these findings in perspective, more people access the internet using their mobile devices desktop computers. Additionally, mobile digital media time overtakes desktop/laptop time.

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More of our customers will view content on mobile screens and platforms than desktop screens. Thus, in 2016 the digital strategy must emphasize mobile content, as for many businesses, it will surpass desktop.

 

3.    2015 was the year of HTML5; 2016 will be the year of Consistent Adoption

 

 

When HTML5 was launched in October 2014, it was met with mixed reviews despite a great number of web developers utilizing the technology in their applications. Web analysts around the world suggest that HTML5 will be the standard for web development of the future as it offers  a myriad of advantages– providing a consistent platform that works universally across a variety of devices, including the ever growing mobile market, HTML5 provides an efficient approach that is universally consistent.

Additionally, Mozilla has endorsed the use of HTML5 and JavaScript and encouraged web designers to move away from the use of Flash. This move was prompted by the necessity of blocking all Flash functions on Firefox amid concerns of vulnerable plugins.  Google also made a clear statement by removing support for Flash-based ads from the Chrome browser, effective September 1, 2015.  Hence, the proliferation of HTML5 will be stronger than ever in 2016.

 

4.   Big Data for Mobile

 

With Mobile becoming a marketing game changer, marketers are increasingly turning to data analytics for answers and insights. In a CMO Survey released by Ad Age, reports indicate that in 2016, digital marketing will  increase over 12%, with some of the largest growth in the analytics arena. This desire for better data and analytics comes out of a climate where only 15% of CMOs report the ability to prove the quantitative impact of their digital marketing efforts.

As Christine Moorman, professor at Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business and director of the CMO Survey noted, “Companies are using mobile devices to connect to social sites, but part of the challenge is figuring out how to use mobile to reach and persuade buyers.” The constant need for monitoring lead generation and converted clicks is possibly where the increase in quantitative analytics can provide answers.

 

5.    Mobile ads are here to stay: will account for 51% of digital market in 2016

 

Moving into the digital marketing conversation, new figures from eMarketer find that not only are mobile ads here to stay, in 2016, they will account for 51% of digital, thus overtaking desktop. In 2016 alone, the global mobile advertising market will have spent over $100 billion.

Additionally, these findings extrapolate that in the period of 2016-2019, this $100 billion spent on mobile ad content will double to $195.55 billion and represent over 70% of the digital market (desktop’s content having less than a 30% share of the digital market).

The best practices of mobile that remain the same are the following: the necessity for making all mobile ads responsive, nuanced treatment of ad content based on medium (video versus still image) and the need to make ads addressable (ads with dynamic creative content that tailor to the medium and circumstance). These components will significantly improve the framework for mobile leading to lead generation, customer connection and conversion in 2016.

 

Contact us to learn more about what Digital Strategy can do for your business today. To learn more about how to capitalize on the growing mobile market, visit our Digital Marketing Blog here.