By now, mobile marketing has become an established concept in the marketing field. Considering the first cell phone came out in 1973, and the first smartphone came out in 1992, there has been considerable time for marketers to figure out how to market on them effectively. However, as with anything else in today’s world, mobile and SMS marketing are constantly changing. Understanding and learning about any new changes in the industry is key to any company’s survival and success in today’s market. Here we have compiled a list of what’s NEW for mobile marketing in 2013.

Social is Becoming More Important

It seems like companies and businesses everywhere are starting to recognize the need to implement social media strategies into their overall marketing strategies. On mobile, this means paying attention to mobile apps such as Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn among others. People today are constantly using social media on the go, so if you’re a business and you want to reach these people, social media is one of the best ways to do this. Networking between brands and clients can also reinforce brand-customer relationships or can assist companies and businesses in finding new candidates to hire. LinkedIn is quickly becoming the premier online business card/resume for many professionals, but is also one of the best places to display your company and share professional content and ideas. Regardless of how you look at it, if you are not using social on mobile, you and your company are missing out on a HUGE segment of the population.

Content Should Be Optimized For Mobile

Content has become one of the premier ways to engage with your clients and potential customers. Content usually refers to blogs, social media, newsletters, webinars, white papers, video blogs, case studies, infographics, visual imagery, and more. On mobile, this means you need to make sure that your normal website content is easily viewable on mobile devices. This includes smartphones, tablets, and other mobile devices. Since content is one of the best ways to generate leads, nurture leads, and then convert them, it is important that you make this content available for mobile as well. Keep in mind, however, that the mobile experience is much different than the desktop experience. If you have not optimized your site for mobile, your mobile users are probably having a hard time navigating your content, which results in lost traffic, lost leads, and ultimately, lost business. Learn how to optimize your content for mobile so you are not just limited to your desktop website’s traffic and lead production.

The Smartphone Has Become King

Smartphones officially surpassed older-style phones in sales worldwide earlier this year and Ericcson has predicted that over 50 million connected devices will exist before the end of the year. That means everything outside of SMS marketing has become even more important. This means social media, mobile apps, and mobile marketing are key areas to focus on when developing and refining your mobile marketing strategy.

You also want to remember to adapt your company’s and your personal profiles to fit mobile screen resolutions, operating systems, and mobile browsers. This is, simply put, the best way to increase visibility and increase your presence on mobile. Local businesses can also take advantage of the mobile revolution with the new geolocation feature that can target people within specific areas, or simply target people who are close to your place of business. SMS is also a great concept to look into for local businesses.

Mobile Wallets and Near Field Communication (NFC)

The newest iPhone 5 has been criticized because it doesn’t have the new NFC technology. NFC is the ability for smartphones to make payments like you would with a credit or debit card, except you’re using your smartphone at the register instead. Other new technologies like Google Wallet and PayPal are pointing towards a future where physical money will continually disappear to make way for electronic money. So this is definitely something you will want to keep in mind when developing and implementing your mobile marketing strategy. you may not use it just yet, but you will want to be educated on it down the road when you will need to implement it to survive.