30 Experts From All Over the World Share Mobile Marketing Trends for 2023

From digital transformation to data-led insights, 2023 is another exciting year for mobile marketing. For consumers, technology will meet trust, leading to transparency and a greater choice.

For mobile marketers to stay ahead in this brave new world, they must increasingly rely on automated technology and a growing range of channels that enable them to reach out.

What do the experts have to say about this year? Here’s a selection of 30 professionals voicing their opinions on mobile marketing trends, opportunities, and priorities.

We’ve grouped their views into four broad areas. At a glance, these are:

• Technology
• Apps
• Consumers, Channels, and Content
• Social Media

They’ll give you a valuable snapshot of what to expect, what to watch out for, and what opportunities to seize.

Technology Solutions

Kelly Richardson, co-founder of Interbrandz, an omnichannel design agency

“Mobile ads automation has effectively contributed to return on advertising spend, cost per impression, and action. There used to be a time when ads would have to be managed every hour while they were active. Now marketers can scale quickly with the aid of AI-enabled ad automation.”
(Source – Builtin)

Amine Rahal, Founder, IronMonk Solutions

“In SEO, structured data is going to continue to dominate. Through the first half of 2021, expect structured data snippets to be hot commodities for those looking to rank on the first SERPs. Google Search is becoming more intelligent, and you’ll need to keep up by mastering markup and ensuring every page has deep, structured data that informs page rank of each and every meta-detail of the article.”
(Source – Builtin)

Olena Zherebetska, Content Manager, Pics.io

“With increased digitalization, marketing agencies worldwide are accumulating more digital assets. This is why digital asset management software is gaining momentum right now. Modern-day digital asset managers will help you access, organize, and distribute assets easily. Among my most favorable features, there are meta-tagging, AI-powered technology, advanced search capabilities, shareable public websites, and much more.”
(Source – Clickz)

Lomit Patel, Vice President, Growth, IMVU

“Today, artificial intelligence, sensors, and digital platforms have created enormous opportunities for learning faster than ever before. Competing on the rate of learning will become the key difference between the apps that succeed and those that fail. Companies that embrace AI and automation will be able to test, learn, and iterate radically faster by turning data into their superpower for growth.”
(Source – Clickz)

George Mathews, Founder, Kamayobloggers

“Artificial intelligence is the biggest trend that’s going to change digital marketing in the future. Whether it be Google taking in more AI to answer queries or AI-based chatbots resolving queries, AI is certainly shaking things up. AI will help digital businesses get a competitive advantage. It will help businesses enter new markets and reduce costs in existing businesses. Communication, product recommendations, and personalization are all going to be more targeted thanks to AI.”
(Source – Clickz)

Olivier Jollet, Senior Vice President of Strategy and Business Development, Streaming, and Head of Mobile at ViacomCBS Networks International

“When you are a marketer, you want to have the best possible way of presenting the product. With 5G – with VR, AR – you can discover the product in a different way. You can experience something new that you never experienced before. Obviously, we don’t know where the journey is going to go, but clearly, there are options. If it’s executed in the right way, it can transform the whole industry. It can transform the way you do advertising, the way you are featuring products, so there are tremendous new opportunities.”
(Source – Mobilemarketingmagazine)

Richard Jones, CMO of Cheetah Digital

“The next generation of personalization is about relying on deep data insights, first and zero-party data and using machine learning to derive not only the right content, not only the right offer, not only the right channel but, the right sequence of events that leads to an automated path to conversion. The next generation of personalization is about providing a value exchange for consumers in the ‘moment’ when you have them on your mobile app, on your site, in your store. How can you provide them something that will generate trust and affinity with the brand?”
(Source – Hubspot)

App Advances

Peter Fodor, Founder & Chief Marketing Agent of AppAgent

“My single most important recommendation is to focus on improving your product and the value it delivers, which eventually results in better monetization. Advice for marketers specifically would be to start thinking about your app as a brand. Otherwise, it will be perceived as a commodity by users and you can’t win the battle if you are not differentiating enough.”
(Source – Asodesk)

Joey Bertschler, Content Marketer

“We will see more add-ons for apps. One example would be a connecting link, which is a link that you can put into your Instagram bio that would take users to a table of contents with all of your most important links.”
(Source – Builtin)

Asim Rais Siddiqui, Founding Partner, TekRevol

“I think app clips will become far more popular as a user acquisition strategy in mobile marketing. Apple’s app clip feature has come in response to their changes to IDFA rules, which have reduced data collection due to the opt-in rather than opt-out setting. In response to this limitation for running personalized campaigns, app clips are going to be big in 2021.”
(Source – Builtin)

Thomas Petit, mobile marketing thought leader and independent app growth consultant

“In 2021, it is not enough to promote only through the App Store, Google Play and use standard advertising channels (such as Facebook and Google). To attract your audience and get more installs, you need to use alternative advertising platforms and app stores (Mac Store, App Gallery). It is important to invest in the audience and create a community around the application: invest in SMM, email marketing, websites.”
(Source – Asodesk)

Consumers, Channels, and Content

Blair Williams, Founder, MemberPress

“Given how popular platforms like TikTok are right now, it’s a safe bet that businesses will create more online videos. We can expect to see a rise in mobile-based content (e.g., vertical video formats on mobile social media apps). This is especially likely because the younger generation is growing into a significant market and brands need to connect with them in the  places where they spend the most time.”
(Source – Builtin)

Samuel Thimothy, Co-founder, Integrated Marketing Solutions

“It’s no longer news that the pandemic has forced an increase in e-commerce activity across the globe. Brick-and-mortar stores have been tested, with many moving online to keep the lights on. This will lead to stiffer competition on the digital side of the business. It’s no longer enough to drag and drop your way to a website. Slapping a few blog posts together won’t do it anymore.”
(Source – Builtin)

Stephanie Wells, Co-founder, Formidable Forms

“I think in 2021 there will be increased use of voice search and voice control. With more home electronic devices in use, such as Amazon Echo and Apple HomePod, more people now rely on speaking to receive search results and answers. Next year, that number will increase as more customers buy these devices for their homes and continue using them on their smartphones.”
(Source – Builtin)

Jared Atchison, Co-founder & Developer, WPForms

“Mobile marketing, just like any other form of marketing, needs excellent content in order to produce conversions. You can’t sell to your audience if you can’t use words to entice them and encourage them to act. Mobile marketers should focus on putting out more high-quality content, including interactive options. Creative content grabs consumers’ attention on mobile.”
(Source – Builtin)

Ekaterina Gladkova, Communication Director, Go Mobile

“Don’t rely solely on paid acquisition. Paid UA should be a growth multiplier, but when used as the sole driver, it’s a dangerous game doomed to peak at some point. Invest in your own audience (community, social, email, web).”
(Source – Asodesk)

Ozan Sisman, Partnership Manager at Adjust

“From entertainment and e-commerce to fitness and finance, a key trend we identified is that users are more likely than ever before to spend on subscriptions. Recent research conducted by Adjust found that Gen Z and Millennials spend an average of $25.85 USD a month globally and that many have even stopped paying for services like gym memberships in order to buy app subscriptions.”
(Source – yellowheadinc)

Anastasia Lichnaya, Lead ASO Manager, Belka Games

“We advise advertisers to come to unexpected sites with creatives carefully tailored for them. This will help you reach a new audience, build knowledge among those you have not been able to reach before, and be remembered for your own communication. Examples: TikTok and Likee with Gen Z communication, Tinder and Badoo with dating creatives.”
(Source – Asodesk)

Maria Chernoplyokova, ASO specialist, ASOdesk

“To win in the difficult struggle for a user in 2021, you need to adapt to constant changes in the market: look for non-standard solutions and new channels for attracting users (because many familiar ones will no longer be effective), such as Apple Search Ads, TikTok, until your competitor come there; and at the same time you should integrate traditional marketing channels like email, web into your mobile strategy.”
(Source – Asodesk)

Martin Luenendonk, Co-Founder, FounderJar

“We see more and more businesses focus on omnichannel marketing and becoming less dependent on one single traffic and revenue driver. One reason behind that is that businesses are looking for target audience-specific marketing channels and optimize the marketing campaigns for this platform in order to out-spend competition.”
(Source – Clickz)

Lukas Mehnert, CMO, Smartlook

“If you want to stand out from the competition, choose the unique content produced by your company or hire specialists who will help you master this process. Once you have such content, make it properly distributed in the appropriate channels where your recipients will find it.”
(Source – Clickz)

Kristina Ziauke, Content Manager, Sixads

“Companies will not only have to provide personalization if they want their consumers to stay loyal, but they’ll also have to excel at it. This means that personalization is not an option or a nice thing to have anymore; it’s a necessity if you want to stay in the game.”
(Source – Clickz)

Raul Galera, Partner Manager, CandyBar

“Retention is more important than ever. As customer acquisition costs rise, getting existing customers to come back for a second and third purchase can make a huge difference in your profit margins. Exploring areas such as subscription options and loyalty points are ways to keep your clients engaged with your brand. Having a brand and, most importantly, a voice that customers can recognize at different stages of the funnel will become crucial. Do not neglect aspects such as invoicing or packaging, make sure that your branding is visible and identifiable at all steps. Creating an omnichannel approach in which brands are able to connect with those customers that have found out about them in a marketplace and redirect their attention to channels they can control.”
(Source – Clickz)

Activate CEO, Nicolas DiSanto

“By combining influencer activity with performance marketing strategies, brands can drive increased conversions. This hybrid approach means influencers create native ads that resonate better with consumers, which is much more likely to enhance advertising performance and improve overall conversion. Brands can identify the best-performing influencer content and create paid ads to target key audiences. As homespun influencer content is perceived as more authentic, this often results in higher engagement and conversion rates.”
(Source – mobilemarketingmagazine)

Terry White, Thryv Business Advisor

“It’s important to remember that you don’t have to reinvent the wheel every time you want to use mobile marketing for an existing online or direct mail campaign you have going. All that’s necessary is to shorten the message for easy texting.”
(Source – Twitter)

Pinder Takhar, Director of Marketing at mGage

“Enabling different mobile messaging channels offers various routes for your consumers to easily connect with your brand: whether it is to receive product support, request information or to resolve an issue. It enables mobile users to easily initiate a conversation with your brand, and provides a customer-first approach.”
(Source – mobilemarketingmagazine)

Social Media Use

Denise Langenegger, Outreach Strategist for Instasize

“Instagram Stories, Twitter Fleets, YouTube Reels — each have their own name or little twist to it — but they all pretty much function the same way. Social media stories take advantage of the audience’s fear of missing out with the use of mixed, engaging media that disappears after 24 hours. To succeed in the stories format, you have to make use of all its features. This means utilizing the full screen, engaging with your followers through polls and clickable media, and experimenting with stickers, motion overlays, effects, and all kinds of creatives.”
(Source – Clickz)

Alex Tooby, Instagram strategist

“A shift toward contactless shopping will allow eCommerce stores to thrive even further in 2021. With social platforms such as Instagram and Facebook already beginning to integrate in-app purchasing, the steps traditionally required to convert a user to a customer will be reduced and the gap between ‘scrolling’ and ‘shopping’ will be significantly blurred.”
(Source – Socialmediaexaminer)

Sooraj Balakrishnan, Head – marketing, Acer India.

“In this digital world, transparency on social media is more important than ever before. Social media acts as a medium for brands to directly engage with their consumers; people are seeking out brands they can trust more frequently, so being transparent will help the brand to gain the trust of more users.”
(Source – Economic Times)

Massimiliano Tirocchi, CMO and co-founder, Shapermint

“Social media platforms like Facebook are making it easier for consumers to go from discovery to purchase without ever having to leave the platform, creating a simple and seamless path to purchase. With social commerce continuing to grow into 2021, retail brands will have to adapt to these platforms with new rules, similar to what many did with Amazon.”
(Source – Forbes)

A Final Piece of Advice

Here’s a bonus tip for all those mobile marketers looking for an increased share of success in 2023 and beyond.

Given that remote work is a trend that seems here to stay, how does one tackle customer experience and engagement? What sort of strategies should marketers explore to enhance this?

Shannon Cook, Movable Ink’s Director of Go-to-Market Enablement for Mobile Channels, shares customer engagement insights and strategies for marketers to take advantage of here.

From voice to video, personalization to segmentation, it will be a year of opportunities for those with the skills to seize them. All the best!