5 Mobile Marketing Trends To Jump On Before 2023

With a whopping 7.7 billion people expected to own smartphones by 2027, it’s time to wave goodbye to traditional marketing formats and embrace an interactive, cellular future.

(Image Source: Oberlo)

As we head toward 2023, perfecting a mobile marketing strategy has become a key focus point for e-commerce retailers, online brands and content creators who want to keep their conversions high and engagement booming in the new year.

Stick with us as we delve into the future of the mobile marketing scene, and share our top tips on increasing cellular conversions in 2023.

How has mobile commerce changed in 2022?

Post-pandemic, there are more people online than ever before. On the back of a number of global lockdowns, a push for remote working and the e-commerce sector’s undeniable success, we have seen an accelerated digital shift in the last two years.

As more smartphone users swap the real world for a virtual alternative, mobile applications and social platforms have seen sharp spikes in engagement, content creation and ad monetization.

In the wake of a social media shift, content-based platforms such as TikTok continue to shine, and immersive filters take us one step closer to the metaverse. The question is, what does this mean for mobile marketers?

From a spike in mobile advertising to a push for mobile-first UX design, smartphone-based strategies have taken centre stage in 2022 so far.

In fact, a recent Internet Advertising Revenue Report revealed that 70% of all internet advertising revenues are attributed to mobile marketing since the start of the 2020 pandemic, highlighting the sheer scale of the shift toward a smartphone-centered future of marketing.

5 Mobile marketing trends to jump on before 2023

As we draw closer to the new year, mobile marketing trends are only tipped to grow, especially amongst online startups and e-commerce retailers who are looking to see demographic growth and a jump in online conversions.

If that sounds like you, let’s look closely at some of the key elements that could dominate a smartphone strategy in 2023.

1. A push for mobile-first design

One mobile marketing trend in every business leader’s mind is a push for a mobile-first design in 2023. After the Covid-19 pandemic accelerated the adoption of smartphone technology, over half of Google’s online traffic now comes from smartphone users alone.

Therefore, as we enter the new year, cellular conversions will take centre stage in an e-commerce-dominated landscape, meaning your mobile optimization needs to be in top form. 

From UX design to site SEO, all elements of a brand’s website should be accessible to a smartphone user. With the average mobile consumer known to bounce off of a poorly designed website in under 3 seconds, creating a user experience promotes simplicity, ease of use and a quick call to action.

Navigation systems should be optimized for a smartphone screen, and a hyper-sensitive touch response should be your UX design team's first port of call. Consumers now expect a mobile site to be fast loading and widely accessible on a large range of devices.

Alongside this, mobile marketers should work on their website copywriting. Keeping a copywriting strategy simplistic, snappy and easily readable for a smartphone audience is easy to improve site accessibility and efficiently guide your sales leads to the conversion page.

(Image Source: Finances Online)

As you can see here, 55% of all site conversions can be attributed to mobile users within only an hour of an initial mobile search. If you want to keep your sales high in 2023, a mobile-first approach to your site design, structure and accessibility is the key to success.

2. 5G’s impacts on app performance 

Another mobile trend marketing experts can expect in 2023 is the proliferation of 5G in smartphone development.

Known for improving mobile speed, efficiency and secure data-transferring, 5G will become a mainstream component in the release of new smartphone devices all over the world. 

(Image Source: Statista)

As you can see here, 5G smartphone shipments have seen a spike in adoption in the last few years, and that number is only expected to increase in the new year. In fact, 47% of all technological devices are tipped to be 5G infused by the end of 2022, bringing the fifth generation of mobile connectivity into the mainstream.

This is good news for mobile marketers who want to step up their app development strategies and produce more immersive content for their consumers. 5G skyrockets app functionality and makes it easier for UX designers and content marketers to integrate AR/VR into social campaigns and on their sites.

3. A call for immersive content

Speaking of immersive content, it’s also time for mobile marketers to get creative with what they are posting in 2023. 

Since 2018, VR/AR has become a trending technology used in a number of mobile marketing campaigns. After the adoption of virtual reality technologies in the marketing sector increased by 75%, this next year could see an immersive twist for mobile marketing strategies.

On the back of the metaverse’s success, mobile marketing is set to centre around the creation of smart, technologically advanced content in the form of augmented reality filtering on social media, immersive product placement within mainstream gaming platforms and, of course, futuristic site structures that play to a mobile user’s strengths.

With consumer competition at an all-time high, getting creative with content is an essential step mobile marketers will have to take in 2023 if they want to stay in the game. 

The key here is to monitor your current content and track your engagement levels when trying out new formats. For each demographic, platform and trend, your content format should differ. Different age ranges, niche users and platform algorithms prefer alternative immersive levels, so it’s important to know your audience well before taking the leap.

4. AI-driven mobile marketing

The use of AI in a modern-day marketing strategy has also become essential if marketers want to keep track of their audience analytics. 

On the back of Google’s plan to remove third-party cookies from their search engine, smart marketers must now prioritize new data collection forms, especially if they want to create successful targeted campaigns. In fact, over 70% of marketers now claim to be using a fully defined artificial intelligence strategy.

For mobile marketers, in particular, AI will play a large role in social media-based advertising trends in 2023. Aiding the segmenting of demographic niches and the creation of hyper-personalized social ads, AI is predicted to make the consumer targeting challenge a much easier affair.

According to experts at MarketsandMarkets, AI in social media advertising is expected to soar, with the market tipped to grow by 28% to $2.2 billion by the end of 2023 alone.

5. The impacts of social 2.0 on ad monetization

Last but not least, 2023 is tipped to bring us Social 2.0. In a new social media era, consumers and companies can expect to see a platform-based experience rather than a traditional socializing network.

This means that social platforms such as Instagram, TikTok and Facebook will no longer be the home of free-access networking. Instead, the future of social media will centre around purpose-built platforms and content monetization, bridging pathways to a new virtual tomorrow.

So how can mobile marketers move forward in a Social 2.0 landscape? From monetizing on ad campaigns to creating subscription-based services, mobile marketing will heavily center around social media-based conversions.

(Image Source: Codetiburon)

As you can see above, there are a number of ways that a brand can use the monetization of social media platforms to its advantage. The key here is to know your demographic well and pick the platforms that are likely to have high engagement in your niche.

Using analytic tools, you can Maximize your ROAS and amplify social ad engagement. From segmenting audience data to highlighting the highest-value players, mobile marketers can identify ad type and placement performance for a better-targeted social strategy.

Looking forward 

Stepping into 2023, mobile marketing will continue to be popular in the e-commerce industry.

As smartphones lead the way forward, tomorrow's marketing strategy will rely heavily on social media-based success, website speed, and ever-changing consumer demands. 

Mobile marketers need to be on top of their demographic targeting, up to date on the latest technology and most importantly, ready to adapt their campaigns at any given time to succeed in a quickly evolving digital world.

As we step into an era of social 2.0, we can also predict that social media will be at the forefront of this mobile marketing shift. With Social 2.0 bringing mass platform monetization to the table, popular consumer-based apps such as TikTok will pioneer the way forward for new marketing trends. 

Elements such as the TikTok shop will quickly bring e-commerce into a social sphere, therefore reducing the need for on-site shopping and transforming the mobile marketing strategies of the future. 

A metaverse dominated tomorrow. 

This is not forgetting the metaverse too, which is also tipped to play a significant role in the future of mobile marketing. Valued at $63 billion in 2021, the Metaverse could advance marketing strategies. With more brands than ever before partnering up with Metaverse platforms such as Horizon Worlds and Roblox, we can no longer ignore this new virtual world when planning a marketing campaign.

Fresh campaigns must be full of immersive potential and entice a mobile user into a metaverse-based tomorrow. As a virtual hub of commerce, Real Estate, and so much more, the potential here for brand success is unlimited. The key here is to watch your consumers and competitors and jump onto metaverse-based trends as soon as they hit the marketing scene. 

Marketers acting fast in a new digital environment will likely see the most success in 2023. Mobile marketing may still be relatively new for some but is assumed to be well-known very soon. As more people pick up smartphones, your brand must be ready to quench their need for mobile content.

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