If one were to be asked to pinpoint an emerging trend in marketing this year, it would definitely be mobile marketing. In fact, according to recent research, marketing via mobile platforms is expected to be an important strategy for around 88% client-side marketers this year. What are the reasons for the rise in mobile marketing spend? They range from cheaper sets to innovative and highly competitively priced services. The best part about this form of marketing is that a company can target exactly the audience they want to engage. Which is why, most big companies – from Coca Cola to Xbox have increased their mobile marketing spends.

Here is a look at the top mobile marketing trends on the rise, worldwide.

Mobile gaming: From basic games played in-phone to more sophisticated multimedia games, mobile gaming has becoming a popular way to deliver promotional messages. After all, most people enjoy games and marketers are targeting these gamers with innovative advergames. Tucked into these advergames are strategies to increase engagement by offering contests and prizes. When gamers invite acquaintances to play or respond to promotional messages, a campaign reaches more people. Thus this has become an effective viral marketing strategy.

Mobile music: This is a strong growth area and a great promotional avenue for a company. People love getting new ringtones and sharing them with friends – and when companies charge an amount for each ringtone downloaded, it is a quick way to make some money.

Mobile couponing: This has become one of the most popular mobile marketing services, thanks to the fact that people use Short Text Message or SMS services extensively. Research estimates say that 2 out of 3 mobile phone users SMS services and marketers are taking advantage of this to send couponing messages to targeted customers.

Since the message reaches the targeted user’s mobile, the chances of impulse purchases are higher. It is less expensive than placing ads in, say newspapers or on TV – and at the same time, the message reaches the desired audience group. And, if users like the coupon and redeems it, they may pass on the message to friends. It turns out to be a more effective alternative to the traditional paper coupons; so companies are using this eco-friendly, instant marketing service extensively to promote new offers and services.

Mobile healthcare: As people begin to demand more self-care, mobile healthcare is quickly becoming popular, especially in the Asia Pacific. According to recent estimates, this service is growing at a rate of almost 80% every year in the Asian countries. Patient monitoring, mobile nursing, and access to healthcare information are popular ways that hospitals and healthcare services are using to reach out to more patients.

With so many avenues of reaching the word out to targeted customer groups, it is no wonder that mobile marketing is creating waves the world over. As technology advances and mobile phones become even more powerful in their range of features, it is time for every company to join the latest race to reach their customers using this personalized, power-packed device.