Any marketer not aware of the tremendous growth across three key dimensions might be accused of living under a rock in 2015, but it’s in tying them together where we understand them in context.
The three dimensions here are: Device, Intent, and Content. (Aka Mobile, Local, Video)
Mobile:
The biggest force in online search is now the Mobile device. According to the eMarketer study released this week reviewing BIA/Kelsey data from May 2015, Mobile overtook desktop searches for local items and is up over 23% since last year.
Mobile is being driven from smartphone growth with 9% increase in U.S. smartphone subscriptions according to Mary Meeker’s 2015 Internet Trends, May 2015. This same report reveals that in the U.S. the time spent with digital media is growing faster on mobile devices with 51% of the total, versus 42% on a desktop/laptop and 7% other connected devices.
Local:
One of the fastest growing trends in consumer shopping behavior is searching with “local intent” just a few years ago at around 30% of all search traffic, now between 40-55% depending on which study you look at – with that hand-held smartphone above that at 56% (Source: Ipsos MediaCT).
Today, 75% of store shoppers use their mobile devices while shopping in stores, according to a new report published in Internet Retailer, titled “Reality of Retail,” from InReality.
Then they buy! ComScore recently found that 78 percent of local-mobile searches resulted in an offline purchase (usually within just a few hours).
Video:
The trend on content marketer’s radar is online video. Did you know that over half the videos on YouTube are now viewed on mobile devices, with video ads being significantly more viewable on mobile devices versus desktops? (83% for mobile versus 53% for desktop). Source: Google, May 2015.
Globally, according to the May 2015 Cisco Visual Networking Index study, consumer internet video traffic will be 80 percent of all consumer Internet traffic in 2019, up from 64 percent last year. Add in Video on Demand and Peer-to-Peer video sharing and that approaches 90%.
If television’s dominance since the 1950’s tells us anything, it’s that consumers like to watch, be entertained and informed. This behavior trend continues on new devices.
Why consider this 3-dimensionally?
The intersection of device, intent and content can help us prioritize our efforts and investments – giving us the biggest bang for our marketing buck, and helping us meet at the nexus of consumer needs.
What can SMB’s do?
It’s critical that your website is optimized for mobile devices. Since Google changed its ranking algorithm in April, this is more important than ever for SEO. Test it here.
Make sure your store hours, directions and overview of current sales and inventory is featured, as these are the top items that local searchers focus on.
Create short how-to (explainer) videos answering the most common questions from customers, and include a short promotional walk around video of your storefront. Link these from your social media properties and local apps to keep them noticed.
How can national brand marketers that sell through local channels help their SMB’s?
Show leadership with your plans, co-op policies, and media programs. Leverage your content, apps and online infrastructure to help fill the void left by traditional media. Local microsites, mobile-friendly landing pages, taggable video, and digital media templates in your marketing portal should be seriously considered in your strategy.
If you’re already there, focus on mobile ads…particularly location targeted campaigns. According to BIA / Kelsey less than 10% of this spend is generated by local SMB’s today, but is projected to grow quickly to 33% by 2019.