Mobile really is the future of the internet. A survey by InMobi finds that Americans and Britons consume 70 minutes of online content via their desktop or laptop, but 134 minutes via their tablet device and phone combined. In addition, mobile devices have impacted marketing, recruiting, and even employee communications. Here are the latest trends.
Mobile for marketing
Mobile has become a major channel for marketing. Spending on mobile advertising increased from $18 billion in 2013 to $31 billion this year, according to eMarketer.
And how are brands using that money? One of the coolest interstitial ads I’ve seen recently was for Fiat. The ad, which appeared on tablets, included a 360-degree view of the car, a feature that let you change the car’s color, a dealership locator, and a video. While many people (me included) used to skip videos on mobile devices or only watch them for a few seconds, Fiat claims that 80% of users watched the entire video.
As you can see, mobile marketing doesn’t just mean pop-up banners anymore. Now there are lots of possibilities out there for creative brands. Ford branded a CAPTCHA. Hershey’s served users 12 different ads on their home screen — a different one each time a user unlocked their phone. And don’t forget about mobile coupons — 25% of mobile phone users will redeem this one year.
Mobile for recruiting
As I pointed out a few months ago, mobile is making a huge impact on recruiting. According to Jobvite’s 2014 Job-Seeker Survey, 43% of job-seekers have used their mobile device to engage in some type of job-search activity. LinkedIn Talent Solutions puts that number at 70%. In addition, 27% of job-seekers surveyed say it’s “important” to be able to apply for a job directly from their mobile device.
Mobile recruiting means more than having a careers site that’s legible on an iPhone. AT&T has color-coded squares that make navigation easy. Sodexo has its own careers app. McDonald’s includes video testimonials from employees and managers.
There’s a lot of innovation happening in the space, and employers should recognize this before falling behind. ERE was the first to honor the best mobile recruiting sites and strategies. Now there are the Mobile Recruitment Awards, with categories like Best Mobile Recruitment Marketing Campaign and Best Mobile Employee Engagement Platform.
And speaking of employee engagement…
Mobile for employee communications
For years, intranets and employee communications have been trapped in worker’s desktop computers — or worse, limited to bulletin boards. But mobile is igniting a revolution in internal communications. Take new theEMPLOYEEapp, an app that workers download to their phone. The app allows companies to “push important information and content (multimedia and documents) to their employees instantaneously, no matter where they are located.”
The Public Relations Society of America calls mobile a “revolution in employee communications.” After all, studies show that 47% of employees spend their days in a “non-desk setting,” and 80% are using their mobile device for work. How are those workers receiving company communications? How engaged are they in employee referral programs, wellness programs, or online career advancement?
Mobile is the new frontier in reaching employees in every setting. Especially when you consider that around half of companies have social collaboration tools, but three quarters of employees find it difficult to access those tools on their mobile devices.
Mobile for everyone
Convinced yet? This is the only beginning. Major publications like Forbes are publishing stories on how mobile is changing retail, how mobile is changing the event experience, and even how mobile is changing branding itself.
At Brandemix, our expertise in branding, marketing, and recruiting includes the latest in mobile design and technology. If you’d like to learn more, contact me and we’ll talk.
Jody Ordioni is President of Brandemix.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Jody Ordioni is the author of “The Talent Brand.” In her role as Founder and Chief Brand Officer of Brandemix, she leads the firm in creating brand-aligned talent communications that connect employees to cultures, companies, and business goals. She engages with HR professionals and corporate teams on how to build and promote talent brands, and implement best-practice talent acquisition and engagement strategies across all media and platforms. She has been named a "recruitment thought leader to follow" and her mission is to integrate marketing, human resources, internal communications, and social media to foster a seamless brand experience through the employee lifecycle.
