Social Media Trends: Ads on the Go

The social media trend of having a Smartphone is blooming into an entire mobile culture.  Not only can Smartphone users surf the web update their Facebook and Twitter pages online, but businesses are also wising up about this new social media obsession.  It makes sense: 8% of Americans regularly use their phones to access the Internet, and more time is being spent on Smartphones than computers.  It would be an untapped gold mine in terms of advertising strategy to ignore this mass usage. Combine this with the social media trend of location, and you've got one brilliant way to better business. The mobile app technology is alive and developing at break-neck speed, which opens many other doors into the mobile world.  The mobile ad is designed to reach customers just before a moment of purchase. Employing location technology, mobile ads can pop up onto your screen when it sense you are near a particular item of interest (if the company has created such an ad and linked it with its in-stores products).  Users likely have to activate something on their phone to be able to receive such ads, but we have the technology.

This revolutionizes the way businesses conceptualize connecting with their customers. Instead of having to think about how to grab potential customer's attention what could be a long time before they are in a position to buy your product or use your service, now you have to find a bite-size way to nab them just before a decision. While the latter may seem easier, people in this culture are probably more likely to be sick of advertisements and might just skip over or otherwise ignore yet another ad. People here have become desensitized to advertisements - it is actually more likely now that people will be prompted to try a new business because of word of mouth rather than in response to an ad. It takes almost an impossibly awesome ad to stick out (in a good way) from the bombardment of images, texts, and promises the average American sees daily. (For the record, "bombardment" here means about 3,000 a day).

It's not likely that mobile advertising will become the most popular form of advertising in the future, but it is a big enough trend that any business wishing to be better in any way ought to pay attention. Of course, since most ads (and apps, for that matter) are for Androids and iPhones, businesses should be targeting their relevant audiences. That is, people with a keen eye, an ear out for the latest, and the financial ability to obtain it. This is not to say that the best business strategy for improvement should be to focus solely on culture-soaked yuppies, but that social media trends (and their implications) should be among primary (marketing) concerns.