Article

Olivia Gao
Olivia Gao 7 January 2019

Five Ways to Increase your Mobile Engagement in 2019

Marketers looking to increase customer engagement need to prioritise mobile marketing in 2019. Here are five tips for you to kick-off the New Year in the right way.

For marketers, mobile data provides a small window into a person’s world. It’s a useful way to reach and understand customers because mobile phones go wherever people go. These days, a smartphone feels almost as essential as an arm or leg. It’s often the first thing people see when they wake up and the last thing they see before they sleep. Who else has left their phone at home before, panicked, and gone back immediately to retrieve it? (Guilty).

Marketers looking to increase customer engagement need to prioritise mobile marketing in 2019. Here are five tips for you to kick-off the New Year in the right way.

1. Leverage Geolocation for Mobile App Engagement
Geolocation reveals where your customers are in real-time. This is a powerful way to deliver relevant content at the right time, in the right place. Here’s how brands can use customer location to seamlessly integrate their app into the customer shopping journey:

  • Notify your customers about special promotions or new products when they’re near a store.
  • Send push notifications to remind people to drop in when they’re nearby.
  • Announce local events at nearby locations.
  • Offer discounts when customers are near competitor stores to direct them towards your store instead.

Over time, you can track customer behaviour and collect data on their preferences. This will allow you to re-target them with even more personalised campaigns. Keep in mind that these techniques aren’t exclusive to brands with storefronts. For example, Uber sends out push notifications when users arrive at airports in new cities, offering to send a driver to collect them.

2. Message your Customers Inside your App
You can use in-app messaging and push notifications to make your customers feel welcome and engaged.

Some examples include:

  • Send a welcome message and coupon right after they install your app.
  • Trigger your audience with ‘We miss you’ messages if they don’t open your app for a while.
  • Send customers a free delivery option or discount when they abandon their cart.
  • Ask them to provide feedback and a customer review a few days after their initial purchase.
  • Show them the perfect matching item after they add a product to their basket.
  • Send relevant messages around your company’s key peak periods. For example, Mother’s Day if you’re an e-commerce app or New Year’s Eve if you’re a taxi app.

TIP: It’s important to target messages against usage (10th app usage session) rather than time (10 days since app download). This will provide a much better context around when to trigger messages.

3. Listen to What your Data is Telling You
The total number of smartphone users will reach 2.5 billion in 2019 and the number of apps is growing just as fast. There were more than 2 million iOS based apps and 2.1 million Android apps registered in late 2018. That’s a lot of competition out there. Only apps that integrate and adapt with people’s lives in a meaningful way will survive. 

How can you do this? Don’t forget: You have all this customer data! Make sure you actually listen to it. Analyse users to understand their actions and identify behavioural patterns within your app. How many times have they opened it? How long do they use it for? How many sessions in one day? In one week? Where are they when they’re using your app? 

The beauty of mobile marketing is that you can measure how your app is performing in real-time and continuously make adjustments. 

4. Earn Trust with Customers by Being Transparent
Mobile marketing is incredibly impactful when done right — and if not, it can be quite creepy. Particularly with the launch of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) in Europe and the Facebook–Cambridge Analytica data scandal in 2017, people are more wary of their privacy than ever. 

Make sure to be upfront and transparent with your customers. Give them control over their personal data and ensure your company is offering fair value in return. Brands who achieve this will earn trust and ongoing data. Brands who don’t will lose their customer’s goodwill and ultimately their business. 

5. Be prepared for the coming of 5G
The year 2019 will be the year of the 5G smartphone takeover. Some of the biggest industry players have confirmed the release of 5G-ready devices, including the Samsung Galaxy S10 and Huawei P30. By the end of 2024, it’s predicted that 5G will reach more than 40% of the world’s population — that’s 1.5 billion people. 

What is 5G? In a nutshell, it improves upon its predecessor 4G by offering greater speed and interconnectivity between smart devices. Sounds simple but the results will be extraordinary. Think augmented reality, virtual reality, holographic displays, and remotely-controlled smart homes, all operating at their full potential and for the masses. It’s not all just futuristic tech either — 5G will also mean you will never lose connection in a packed sports stadium or crowded music festivals again.

Marketers can leverage faster load times, higher resolution, and bigger bandwidths, along with advanced retargeting, hyper-targeting, and inter-device advertising to reach consumers anywhere at any time. This will be especially impactful as more homes incorporate smart devices into their everyday lives. Make sure you keep the future of 5G in mind as you develop your long-term product development and mobile marketing strategies. 

What do you think of these tips for 2019? Share your comments below.

Original Article

Please login or register to add a comment.

Contribute Now!

Loving our articles? Do you have an insightful post that you want to shout about? Well, you've come to the right place! We are always looking for fresh Doughnuts to be a part of our community.

Popular Articles

See all
Instagram Growth Strategies: 9 Practical Ways to Maximize Engagement and Growth

Instagram Growth Strategies: 9 Practical Ways to Maximize Engagement and Growth

Effective Instagram growth strategies are essential for maximizing your marketing campaign, increasing engagement, and boosting conversions. Think of your Instagram strategy for business growth as a campfire. It doesn...

Mos Clement
Mos Clement 26 January 2024
Read more
The Impact of New Technology on Marketing

The Impact of New Technology on Marketing

Technology has impacted every part of our lives. From household chores to business disciplines and etiquette, there's a gadget or app for it. Marketing has changed dramatically over the years, but what is the...

Alex Lysak
Alex Lysak 3 April 2024
Read more
How to Review a Website — A Guide for Beginners

How to Review a Website — A Guide for Beginners

A company website is crucial for any business's digital marketing strategy. To keep up with the changing trends and customer buying behaviors, it's important to review and make necessary changes regularly...

Digital Doughnut Contributor
Digital Doughnut Contributor 25 March 2024
Read more
10 Factors that Influence Customer Buying Behaviour Online

10 Factors that Influence Customer Buying Behaviour Online

Now is an era where customers take the center stags influencing business strategies across industries. No business can afford to overlook factors that could either break the customer experience or even pose a risk of...

Edward Roesch
Edward Roesch 4 June 2018
Read more
AI-driven Personalisation Dominates the Future of Travel and Hospitality Marketing

AI-driven Personalisation Dominates the Future of Travel and Hospitality Marketing

Travel and hospitality marketing is on the verge of dramatic transformation. Personalisation of marketing communications is moving from dream to necessity, and the change is putting marketers in the driving seat.

Michael Nutley
Michael Nutley 3 December 2024
Read more