The Rise Of Smartphones: Daniel Yomtobian Discusses Its Impact In Marketing And Advertising
The advent of smartphones changed how we interact online. What once was the throne of desktop computers and laptops, smartphones now claim the top spot for accessing digital media. We now can watch videos, look at pictures, and listen to music on our smartphones aside from mere messaging. Our mobile devices are more portable. Thus we carry them around to do everything from being an alarm clock, an internet browser, and even a pedometer.
With a myriad of powerful features, the smartphone has also changed marketing and advertising. Bian Capital founder Daniel Yomtobian from Los Angeles, California, has seen this trend throughout the founding of his own business. He began creating marketing campaigns targeted for desktop computer users, but now he can see the evolution of shifting to mobile-friendly campaigns since the rise of smartphones.
In this post, Daniel Yomtobian discusses the various aspects of marketing and advertising that developed due to the increase of smartphone users.
Prioritizing Mobile Responsiveness
If you recall how websites looked like in the past, you will notice smaller fonts, a clunky navigation bar, and other elements which make it difficult to access if you were to use a phone to browse. Now, websites need to have a mobile responsive theme.
Mobile responsive means that websites should automatically format themselves when it detects that a user is accessing through a mobile device — fonts will be larger, navigation features will be minimal yet easier to tap on, and photos will automatically adjust to the width of the mobile screen.
This has also been true for creating marketing and advertising media on mobile devices. When creating PPC advertisements, video ads in social media, and other forms of marketing materials, creators must consider how they will appear on mobile gadgets. Nowadays, 8 out of 10 people access the internet through a mobile device because of its portability.
Multi-platform Marketing
It is exciting to see how versatile smartphones are becoming. Some mobile devices could access the internet before introducing iPhones and other smartphones, but features were minimal. One can look at photos, audio, and video, but multimedia can be very rare during those times.
It is very common to see how marketing tools have changed forever since the advent of smartphones. These include:
In-app advertising:
Some advertisers can sponsor apps to showcase their offers. They can be in partnership with popular apps, and those who download these apps will occasionally see the advertising media.
Social media advertising:
Although social media did not have its origins in smartphones, it started gaining stronger ground when these mobile devices became popular. We can commonly see sponsored posts on social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, or Pinterest.
Mobile-friendly content marketing strategies:
Aside from typical advertisements, many content marketing tools are geared toward smartphone users. For example, Instagram stories, Snapchat, and Tiktok have a video format that optimizes the viewability in smartphones. Thus, engagement is better on such platforms when content marketing is done.
Mobile Apps Created By Businesses
Daniel Yomtobian also highlights how many businesses nowadays have mobile applications for users to access. Many industries, including online retail, restaurants, gaming, and financial investments, have their own apps to improve accessibility and customization of features depending on their type of business.
For example, the Amazon app has a built-in online shopping cart within their app and a powerful search engine within their marketplace. Restaurant delivery apps such as DoorDash have a GPS-enabled feature so that users can see open establishments nearby that can do food deliveries. These distinct features per business application immensely help users perform actions that are otherwise difficult to navigate solely on a desktop-friendly website.
Location-based Marketing
Mobile devices also opened doors for marketing to be more laser-focused when it comes to targeting location-based offers. With the integration of GPS, business owners can now take advantage of user data to do the following:
Be in front of search engine places for “near me” suggestions:
If a user types in “shopping places near me,” the mobile GPS will automatically locate businesses that have registered close to the area.
GPS-based advertising:
When GPS data is activated on the mobile device, advertisers can also choose a demographic to show their offers on various platforms such as in PPCs, social media sponsored posts, and website ads.
Dynamic GPS-based information:
Unlike desktop computers that are in a single location, mobile phones are dynamic, which allows marketers to access users and present offers depending on their needs. For example, a traveler with GPS-activated mobile devices can receive notifications and offers based on where they are going.
The Future of Marketing: Smartphone-Optimized Strategies
The shift from desktop computer exclusive strategies towards mobile-friendly practices shows that the future of marketing will be adhering closely to smartphones. Through the examples discussed by Daniel Yotombian, marketers and business owners must make a conscious choice of prioritizing smartphone users when it comes to generating promotional content.
