BRANDS NEED TO BE WHERE SOCIAL MEDIA AND MOBILITY MEET

New Zealanders are becoming increasingly attached to their smart devices – creating exciting new opportunities for marketers.

If you think the digital revolution has turned business and society upside down, get ready for even more of the same. By 2015, the Internet will connect 3 billion people and more than 15 billion devices.

It’s a mobile revolution too. In 2011, combined shipments of tablets and smartphones overtook those of personal computers.

Accelerating these trends are the social media platforms of Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and a host of jostling pretenders. In turn, these digital meeting places are being transformed by the meteoric rise of mobile technology. In 2012, no fewer than 545 million users accessed Facebook from their mobile phones (and 102 million of them never even looked at the desktop version).

It all adds up to one brutally simple message for marketers. If your brands are to succeed in the mass markets of today, you need to start reaching people where they live their lives.

You need to reach them on their constant digital companion – the smartphone or tablet.

DIGITAL DEVOTION

There are a number of factors driving this phenomenon. Firstly, data downloads are much faster and cheaper than they used to be. Vodafone’s 4G network is live in parts of New Zealand and is up to 10 times faster than standard 3G. It’s like having fibre speed on your mobile or tablet. Maps, apps and even HD video can work immediately. Once people get a taste of real-time data on their phones, there’s no going back.

The second factor is something much more down to earth and human. It’s love.

People have become attached to their smartphones and can’t imagine life without them. One study found that 83% of Millennials (i.e. those born after 1980) have taken their mobiles to bed with them, and mobile

phone addiction has been proposed as a specialist subject in clinical psychology.

This shift to digital mobility can be seen throughout society, but it’s particularly strong amongst the rising generation that will determine the winners amongst tomorrow’s brands. One in three workers under 30 say they would prioritise social media freedom, device flexibility and work mobility over salary in accepting a job offer, while 75% of business school students say they expect to be able to use their own handheld devices at work.

Combine the blinding speed of mobile data downloads with the intense personal connection consumers have to their devices, and you have a recipe for marketing innovation.

WHAT MARKETERS NEED TO KNOW ABOUT MOBILITY

Smartphones and tablets have passed through the novelty stage and are now an accepted tool to transact and interact with brands. In the USA, an impressive 75% of mobile users now make purchases on their mobile devices. Around 60% of Internet searches are conducted on a mobile device, and no fewer than 90% of smartphone searches lead to a purchase or a visit to a place of business.

This is consistent with the fact that people have invited smartphones into their lives like no other piece of technology. Wherever they go, so does their smartphone. Your brand had better be there too.

Add social media, and things become even more interesting. Time spent on mobile social media leaped by 387% from 2011 to 2012, and use of social media apps now outranks all other types. People are Facebooking, Tweeting and Instagramming their lives nonstop – and they’re doing it via the mobile device that never leaves their side. Brands that find a place in this evolving ecosystem will be nicely positioned to convert awareness into sales.

Some of the world’s biggest brands have already got the message. For instance, McDonalds in the UK developed a restaurant-finder app to enable consumers to locate McDonalds sites that were open after 11pm.

Because two thirds of the chain’s sites closed at 11pm, the app used location-based technology and geotargeted messaging to avoid sending potential customers to a darkened restaurant. Banner ads were served to smartphones on sites that shift workers and late-night travelers were known to browse, when the recipient was in close proximity to an open restaurant. Messaging on cashpoint screens, petrol pump nozzles, posters and till receipts with QR codes from outlets close to the late-night restaurants also directed prospects to the app. The app was downloaded 1.3m times, and when the results were calculated, the campaign delivered an ROI of 2:1.

Closer to home, brands such as ASB and Countdown have leaped at the opportunities created by social media and mobility. With ASB’s Social Collect app, Facebook users can receive payments from their Facebook friends. Countdown’s free shopping app enables busy customers to shop online, view specials and even scan barcodes. It’s the world’s most convenient shopping assistant.

With smartphones, tablets and high-speed data, consumers are reshaping the retail world. It’s an exciting time to be in charge of a business, whatever the size. But to make the most of it, you’ll need to make the most of mobility.