Their statistics also depict the total number of smartphone users worldwide from 2016 to 2019, in which for 2016; "the number of smartphone users is forecast to reach 2.08 billion." For all businesses that currently have a mobile app or that are having a mobile app installed, this indicates the size of the market in which they are targeting and therefore it seems now that it is essential for businesses to market through social channels that are accessible on smart phones. For anyone of us now in the current generation, we can’t imagine being without a smart phone, however we do remember a time when digital marketing wasn’t as essential, so how did we reach our consumers then and more importantly, what did we do with our time!
For anyone who was born in the noughties, they are accustomed to the technical advantages within the economy and this has been a normality from a young age. Whereas for people of our generation and above, we have lived to see the day where smart phones and apps have taken over the nation, however we have also experienced life before this and therefore can appreciate how smart-technology has changed the dynamics in many areas of our lives.
For those of us who have a daily commute to work on public transport, how many of your fellow commuters (and probably yourself) are occupied by their mobile throughout the journey? Next time you are on the train have a look around and see how many people are on their device. It’s quite shocking. Before this era, people would have conversations on a train, or read the newspaper, whereas nowadays even newspapers are downloadable in digital format!
What else has evolved with the advance in smart phones?
Can anyone remember a time when you would visit a local event, or a concert or gig where you wouldn’t have the urge to film some kind of footage to let others know that you were there? Can you recall a social gathering where you were actually alert for an entire moment rather than being pre-occupied with your mobile? Or perhaps you can relate to a time where you have been at a social event having a conversation with friends, and instead of everybody giving you their undivided attention, you'll notice a few breaking off to scan down their social media feeds, or to upload an 'Insta' or Snap-Chat of the current situation. It is something of the norm nowadays for people to feel the need to document to others what they are doing with their time. Some say that smart-phones have contributed to the loss of engagement in a moment, as everyone is always preoccupied. However in contradiction, many might say that smart phones crossed with the advance in social media has allowed a platform that grants people with the ability to be able to express ideas and have somewhere that they can voice their opinion, which otherwise may have remained bottled up as a thought. I think you can look at the situation and make a relation to both sides.
However having said all of this, why is it that for the majority of us smart phones are now a fundamental part of our day, and how can they contribute to the growth of a business? Social media is now one of the fastest methods of communication and also, if a company is wanting to send a message to the mass market, it is a quick and often cost-free way in which to do so, i.e. via a Facebook status, or an Instagram picture, etc. These methods of marketing are especially great for salon owners as a lot of the time, you have offers or last minute deals that you wish to notify clients of quickly and on a small budget.
Another great advantage of having a social business page is that anything you post has the opportunity to be shared to a wider audience on those social media sites. And again, in relation to smart phones, these messages can be acknowledged by your market when they are on the move, on the commute to work or even abroad.
But it does make you think, how did we manage to publicise promotions to the mass market when social media and smart phones weren’t around? Businesses still ran, and they still remained to be extremely successful even when we didn’t have these technological advances.
It is the evolving of social media and smart phones that has made the communication process between a business and their customers so much easier accessible and simply a lot faster. Before, the best methods of marketing would have been postal or perhaps cold calling, but then of course for salons who want to promote their last minute deals, a letter may have only been picked up when a client arrived home from work, and the same would have gone with cold calling to home landlines. The positive of a smart phone is that the messages are delivered instantly, contributing to a bigger return on investment with promotional offers. Even SMS marketing messages can now be jazzed up with pictures, emoji’s and the likes…something that was unheard of several years ago.
Therefore, looking at the growth in smart phone sales and social media technology, as much as we have discussed that they can preoccupy peoples attentions and have become an essential asset to day-to-day life, they have really improved business communications for lots of markets. And in terms of people posting daily updates about their social lives, this can be seen as such an advantage for businesses, as they can document company news, any upcoming offers and also promote new products at the click of a button. I think the reason there are contrasting opinions behind the impact of smart phones on the lives of people from this generation stems from the fact that we have knowledge of a time before they were around. But I guess for anyone being born in to the world as it is today, this is just normality to them and in the long run, it is a positive for business marketing and communications. Just a little topic that we wanted to have a think about and discuss...
Salon Tracker x
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