By the end of 2019, mobile devices around the world outnumbered televisions by 3 to 1. By the same year, there were 5.1 billion unique mobile users around the world. Moreover, the average phone user spends 2hrs 55 minutes with the phone on hand every day. All these figures are just a tip of the iceberg showing the potential of this small device in reaching your potential clients through mobile advertising.
Mobile phone advertising gives you three options to reach your target client:
- A call
- A text
- through the internet.
For several years now, various businesses have been utilizing mobile advertising in their marketing campaigns. If you are not yet convinced about its success, you would want to read the words of marketers who are spending more money on digital advertising with a bias on mobile advertising platforms. The fact that 62% of internet traffic is coming from mobile is the reason for their informed decision.
Before we get into the depth of mobile marketing, it is vital first to understand the basics.
Thus, let us define a few terms regarding mobile ads, shall we?
But if you prefer to watch a video instead, click here:
What Is Mobile Advertising?
Let’s start with a broad definition of mobile advertising. It is termed as reaching your potential clients with information about your goods and services through mobile ads. That text you get from a nearby departmental store or the ad you saw when reading through the daily digital newspaper in the morning is a type of mobile ad. Even the new products you saw when playing your favorite game is a mobile ad.
To understand the idea of mobile marketing better, let us look at the types of ads you can expect on your mobile phone.
Type of Mobile Phone Advertising
- Text messages– the common name is SMS- Short Message Service. The ad comes in the form of a text or image. The message can be solely designed as an ad and an SMS marketing campaign, which targets the qualified leads. It might also be the advertisement inform of an addition to the original message.
- Banner ad– the ads you see on websites are modified to fit the small display on the phone. The announcements appear on pages carrying the content you are looking for on a mobile site. Furthermore, the ad may be related to the content. Lastly, it could be an innocent addition.
- Ads in mobile applications– apps have become the new platform for placing ads. The ads are usually placed by website owners in the app. Mobile advertising can also be used to relate to the type of app you have downloaded.
- Ads on games– the adverts mostly appear on free software. They appear as pop-outs habitually redirecting to a website. You’ll have to take action to dismiss the ad or be redirected.
- Video ads– it is one of the fastest-growing forms of advertisements. Mobile video advertising is quite engaging and can also help you to break the language barrier. Such videos are more comfortable to share, helping you to entice potential clients.
Telemarketing also falls in this category. However, due to intrusiveness, marketers decided to phase it out.
Each type of ad will offer unique benefits. Analyzing the benefits should help you pick the best method of advertising using a mobile phone platform.
The Importance of Using Mobile Ads
Mobile phone advertising is 30 times more effective than digital marketing. The statement could be confusing because internet users are frequently using mobile phones. An element of mobile marketing usually involves the use of the internet.
Let us now look at the justification for the use of mobile ads:
Why use Mobile Advertising Platform
- People are on mobile– an advertiser will reach more potential clients on the mobile handset than on PC. With an estimate of about 4 billion mobile phones in the world against 1 billion PCs, the chances of getting to a customer are thus higher via mobile. Some of the 1 billion PCs are not all connected to the internet.
- Mobile offers multiple touch–points– the only way to reach a person on PC is via the internet. However, the phone provides more diverse ways to contact your target client. It includes voice, text message, multi-media messaging-MMS, handset client, billing touch-points, and mobile internet, among other options.
- Personalized touch– people consider mobile phones to be personal devices. The owner of a phone has sole access to messages. A message sent via the mobile handset, therefore, creates customization. Nevertheless, you will never find phones at a cyber. However, for PCs, more than one person can utilize them.
- Bull’s Eye Precision– traditional advertising is challenging because it is a matter of chance. Whether a viewer is interested in a product or not, the ad will still fly his way. Mobile ads have, however, changed the trend. They are allowing advertisers to target specific people who are likely to buy.
Due to the importance of mobile advertising, we will be spending more time here.
Why do you ask? It is because it has drastically changed digital advertising tides in favor of mobile ads, allowing the industry to command more than $240B in 2020.
How do advertisers know who to target?
Mobile phones offer the most comprehensive user data imaginable. The data includes
- Demographic information through the profile of the subscriber
- Web usage time and context capturing the user of a phone, location, time, frequency, and website visited, among other aspects.
- It helps understand the trends by continually building a profile. The profile is also produced from different sources, enabling the builder to narrow down on consumer preferences.
- Bases the power to predict, on past habits and data already collected.
Consequently, targeted ads are becoming more relevant to mobile users. Smartphones are enticing their users to pay more attention to mobile advertising. Thus, this can increase the chances of conversion, resulting in better ROI.
What Else do Mobile Advertising Offer?
- On-Location Advertising– ever received an ad about a sale or discount at a store when you are within the vicinity? Such is the perfect demonstration of on-location advertising. It increases the chances of a response. Nevertheless, I haven’t mentioned PCs here because they cannot move!
- Trusted Billing Relationship– the trust level of a billing procedure will enhance and speed up a buying decision. Buying via PC requires the use of credit cards and the use of online payments, among other options by first confirmation of the user’s identity. However, buying through mobile needs a smooth, almost natural prompt through the click of a payment app, already installed. Moreover, natural stimuli can increase the possibility of impulse buying by clicking onto a product and clicking the send option already connected to an app.
- Easier User Response– mobile phones are interactive compared to PCs. It is easier for the mobile user to opt-in and clicks onto a link or image. When the same happens on the PC, it is regarded as SPAM unless one follows the process of proving they aren’t a bot.
- Triggered ads– some mobile ads are triggered by actions on the phone. When you search for something, visit a website, or look for a location, a relevant ad will pop-out. Such ads are more relevant and will result in higher click rates.
- Avoiding Banner Blindness– internet users are increasingly becoming blind to banners on websites. It explains why the use of ad-blockers is growing. The trend is, however, not as rampant on mobile phones, making them friendly to mobile advertising marketers.
The Best Mobile Advertising Platforms
The different types of mobile phone ads cannot run on the same platform. Hence, you’ll have to identify the best mobile advertising platform for your campaign. Remember to match the advertising platform with your target audience, products on sale, and marketing budget.
Let’s look at four of the most popular mobile ads platforms and how each can be used:
Four Examples of Mobile Video Advertising Platforms
Google Ads platform is the most popular with a market share of 73% of internet traffic. It allows one to use both banners and display ads. The platform also enables one to publish advertisements on Google results, within apps, and on browsers. Such ads may be in the form of images, text, and videos, among other formats.
Facebook ads platform also doubles as Instagram ads. As a popular social media platform, you have the advantage of increased traffic plus (constant) engagement. Furthermore, it allows one to create a community of people who would be interested in a company’s products. The ads should, therefore, be more targeted to a specific audience. You can also run banner ads, interstitial ads, and native ads, among others.
Bing Ads– Bing is popular because of its low price. Furthermore, the platform receives 5 billion visits every month, guaranteeing reasonable exposure. It also gives you better control over the location, time, and the language of your ad, among other factors.
AdMob– the platform is owned by Google but operates independently. It helps businesses to efficiently and effectively show ads on their apps. Moreover, the platform allows you to display native ads, banner ads, video ads, and full-page interstitials ads.
There are countless other mobile ad platforms, which can sometimes be confusing when you need to make a choice.
What do the best mobile ad platforms have in common?
- An extensive inventory of the ads you can place
- Advanced ad targeting and analytics
- Global market access
- Supported by all big operating systems
It is crucial to place your ad on a platform with a large inventory. Such shall expand the possibilities of placing advertisements that resonate with your target market.
How To Maximize Your Mobile Ads ROI
Having understood what mobile ads are, the benefits, and where you can place the ad, it is time to make and save money. For a prudent marketer, mobile ads do not translate into blind investment.
How can you save on your marketing budget while maximizing on the ROI? Here are a few tips:
- Use Verified Data– as indicated earlier, mobile ads offer the chance to collect and use a lot of data. The data helps you to target a specific market and improves ones returns from each campaign. Since the accuracy of that data is crucial in decision making, always use platforms that provide detailed data.
- Segmentation– identify the unique elements in each class and tailor your campaign to suit their needs. Understand the gender, age, education, location, and such other aspects so that the ads are sent to a particular cluster. Such an understanding makes it easier to get people with a keen interest and intent to buy your products or services.
- Personalize the message– can the recipient see his or her reflection in your message? A personalized message will elicit interest and increase the chances of buying your product.
- Attribute– identify the effectiveness of each touch-point in your campaign. Use also advanced attribution software to determine the returns on each effort. It will guide your budget allocation for future campaigns to maximize profits.
Final Word
Mobile phone advertising is a proven tool to grow your market share.
Identify the most effective platform to use and the best type of mobile ad to suit your business.
Regularly collect data and use it to improve your mobile ads and ensure better ROI.
