The Mobile Revolution is a Big Business Opportunity

Smartphones changed the world, and business is still figuring out exactly how things have changed and in what ways to take advantage of the shift in behavior.

One early adaptation is making it easier for employees to work from the road. Laptops have in some cases been ditched for smartphones. Road warriors can stay connected with the office better though business VoIP solutions that let office calls route to cell phones, and through easier access to company email and documents while on the road.

Reaching consumers more easily through smartphones also is an adjustment that businesses are making; mobile advertising and marketing is a market much talked about but still relatively untapped despite the hype.

A recent Nextiva blog post highlights four ways that companies can leverage the mobile revolution for better advertising.

First, mobility has given every customer a camera in their pocket at all times. This can be used for interaction between the customer and a company.

One method is creating a contest where customers submit videos or picks of a company’s products or logo. The contest could be about creating the funniest video on Vine that includes a company’s brand, or the most innovative way to use a product. This drives deep engagement with customers, and spreads the word through social media.

Second, noted the Nextiva blog, businesses need to use more pop-up advertising.

“Novelty is king, and that’s why pop-up advertising is so effective,” noted the Nextiva blog post. “Whether you turn your pizza shop delivery vehicle into a giant slice of pizza or whether you hire a clown who walks on five foot tall stilts to entertain folks in the parking lot on a busy Saturday, the real secret to pop-up advertising is that random people will take pics and share them with their friends.”

Third, leverage social media to promote a brand or product through things like organizing a flash mob.

Yeah, flash mobs are a little labor-intensive. But if a company helps produce an happening that can be captured on video, it can then easily spread via social media and smartphones at a rapid clip. Novelty is king, as Nextiva noted, and flash mobs almost always draw eyeballs.

Mobility also enables new ways to communicate with consumers and drive the conversation. When the lights went out in the Superbowl a few years ago, for instance, Nabisco took advantage of social media to draw much attention to itself and its Oreo cookies. It tweeted that “You can still dunk in the dark,” and this went viral on smartphones all over the country.

“The ad was retweeted countless times, and Oreo was declared the winner of the Marketing Super Bowl,” noted the blog post. “You need a smart, witty social media guru on your payroll in order to take advantage of current events opportunities, but it can be worth every penny you pay.  Seize the moment!”

There are many ways to use the mobile revolution to good effect. Many of those uses are still being developed.

Edited by Alisen Downey