Marketing tactics have changed over the years. Tools that used to work flawlessly don’t always have the edge anymore. The technological advancements that our society has made have allowed for new tactics for engaging with the audience to emerge. This is where mobile marketing comes into play.

Professor Andreas Kaplan has defined Mobile Marketing as “any marketing activity conducted through
a ubiquitous network to which consumers are constantly connected using a personal mobile device.” The Nielsen Company estimates that 65% of all Americans owned a smartphone in 2013 and believe that number is to raise even higher. As the sales of mobile devices grow so do the sales from consumers shopping ON their mobile devices. In 2013 Forrester Research projected commerce sales of $24 billion and tablet sales of $48 billion, resulting in a total of $72 billion. This year, however, Forrester has projected commerce sales on mobile devices to total around $114 billion. They predict a growth of 58% in smartphone commerce sales bringing it up to $38 billion with an increase of 58% in tablet commerce sales as well, bringing that up to $76 billion.

This increase in device sales has led to a situation where more people are looking to their mobile devices for just about anything from locations of places to shopping and product reviews. Retailers’ revenue from smartphones in 2013 was 113% higher than it was in 2012.

With the blowup of smartphones came the true potential of social media. Social media has not only allowed people to communicate with each other, but also businesses to communicate with the public.

The idea of this two-way dialogue between brands and consumers is often facilitated by social media. 71% of companies say that the biggest trend impacting their business is social media. Big social media companies such as Twitter have even incorporated world-wide events such as 2014 Fifa World Cup into their mobile marketing schemes. Twitter launched a video-sharing feature with two major World Cup advertisers, Visa and Adidas. The feature allows for users to be able to type in a certain hashtag, Visa with #visa and Adidas with #allin, to attach a video to their tweet.

Companies such as Visa, are using the feature to reiterate the brand’s use of mobile video in its World Cup Campaign. Kevin Burke–Visa’s CMO–had this to say when asked about the feature, “We know video is incredibly compelling and has high engagement rates from fans.”

This “high engagement” is what marketers strive to see happen with their brand. The more engagement these brands get the more they flourish in their online communities.

Virality is the key–the more people who see your content the better. Now, thanks to mobile marketing, your content can reach even more consumers. With new technology coming out everyday it is important to stay current with the marketing tools that can put your brand in the spotlight and if you’re already there, maintain that spotlight.