The fragmenting consumer journey on mobile means demographic targeting is becoming less important for marketers developing a mobile strategy to connect with consumers along the path to purchase, according to Google.
Instead, marketers and advertisers should be thinking about how to interact with consumers based on “micromoments” that are geared around intent and location.
The search giant, which is focusing more on mobile to drive growth, saw its share of global mobile ad-revenue fall to 41% last year, down from 47%, as it comes under increasing competition in the mobile space. Facebook’s share continues to grow.
This week it revealed a global report on consumer behaviour on mobile, offering stats on usage, that while not offering any great surprises, serve to help Google shape the way it works with marketers on delivering mobile strategies.
Google Australia head of mobile Lisa Bora, told AdNews that because mobile has fundamentally shifted consumer behaviour forever, marketers should fundamentally shift how they interact.
Instead of targeting people on mobile using traditional demographics such as age, gender and interests, brands should think about moments when people want to go somewhere, or do, know or buy something.
Those are the moments when people are using mobile most and it’s important for brands to tap into them, according to Google.
For instance, searches on Google that use its ‘near me’ function to find nearby places have increased 50 times in the last four years, she added, highlighting the importance for brands to provide content and information on mobile in a way that plays into the immediate need moment.
“We don’t even talk about going online anymore – we live online,” said Bora. “These micro-moments are significantly important for consumers, and therefore for marketers to be aware of.
"It’s ‘when I want to know something’ can my mobile device help me out with a question, ‘I want to go’ moments where location is important, ‘I want to buy’ moments and ‘I want to do’ moments – those are the battleground for brands, the moments that really matter,” she said.
“Mobile has fractured the consumer journey that marketers have relied on in the past where demographic targeting worked. Now those split second decisions we make aren’t being made around identity factors. Demographics are important cues but what’s more important is intent, and location.”
This month Google launched a website dedicated to ‘micromoments’ bringing together its mobile behaviour insights to help marketers shape the direction they take.
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