Expert smartphone and tablet marketers are wondering if companies missed the point in 2012.
One of the hottest topics in mobile is the crossover of social media marketing content and the SEO practices, with many saying that one simply cannot exist without the contribution of the other.
However, as much as this may sometimes be successfully applied for desktops, mobile may have missed the mark.
According to an Econsultancy publication, SEO and social media marketing content have come together to create a marriage between methodology and technology which currently cannot be broken. There had once been a time in which these were entirely separate thoughts, but that time has long passed.
Unfortunately, many mobile social media marketing campaigns have failed to make this recognition.
This has presented a significant challenge for companies and marketers that have spent the last few years developing strategies that use SEO and social media marketing separately. However, many are saying that it is now vital for those brands to break away from their old habits in order to encourage successes in today’s multichannel marketplace.
According to the data from Econsultancy, 97 percent of online marketers feel that social media marketing on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and LinkedIn can be beneficial to the successes of their companies. This includes everything from nurturing to lead generation. However, all too many of these same individuals are not seeing the connection between the two practices and are therefore failing to experience the full potential of each of those elements.
The report on the site went on to explain that for companies that recognize that the future of search is a combination of social media marketing content and the application of proper SEO techniques, has already arrived. Therefore, those who work to join the early adopters will be able to enjoy a considerable advantage over their competition, who has yet to catch on.
As SEO and social media marketing remain two pathways for driving leads through discovery and for boosting the highly valuable exposure through word of mouth, it is can be considered to be exceptionally important for marketers to see these two practices as a single methodology.
2013 may be a major year for the mobile sector
The coming year is expected to be very significant in the realm of mobile technology and mobile services. Over the past 12 months, more consumers have become reliant on their mobile devices in their daily lives. This has created major engagement opportunities in several industries and many companies have begun focusing more heavily on mobile consumers. In 2013, this focus is expected to become more acute on the mobile sector, especially as more companies develop services that are very specifically targeted at the mobile demographic.
Location-based marketing to begin picking up more momentum
Location-based marketing and services are expected to see a boost in 2013. More companies are beginning to see the value of engaging consumers through location-based services. Social media sites like Foursquare and Facebook exemplify this potential channel of engagement. Advertisers can use location-based marketing campaigns to great effect and consumers are all but guaranteed to engage in such campaigns because of their curiosity and their constant connection to their smart phones and tablets.
Mobile gaming to continue showing promise
The mobile sector has been attracting a significant amount of attention from the game industry. Mobile gaming is expected to take off in 2013 as well. Though the mobile gaming space is considered a crowded market by many, there is still significant financial opportunities therein. By the end of 2013, the mobile gaming market is expected to hit $9.8 billion, with the possibility that the Android platform will become the dominating force in the mobile gaming business. In-app advertising is also expected to become more prevalent as game developers find that consumers are willing to engage in such advertisements.
Mobile commerce will likely be a major focus of many companies
Mobile commerce will likely reach new heights in the mobile sector in 2013, powered by NFC technology or not. Companies like PayPal and Apple are currently looking for alternatives to NFC technology to further their goals with mobile commerce. Much of the mobile commerce space will continue to be dictated by the technology, however, as several companies in the technology and telecommunications industry have already invested heavily in the development of an NFC-based mobile commerce infrastructure.
