Mobile advertising looks set to soar, but how can brands capitalise on this fast moving and highly personal medium? Inbar Chap, Deputy CEO at DSNR, offers a 7-step guide to mobile advertising best practices.
Mobile advertising spend for brands and advertisers has increased dramatically to keep pace with smart phone and tablet adoption. According to eMarketer 70% of companies plan to expand upon their mobile marketing budget in 2013.
As the mobile advertising audience has grown, so have all the different ways to segment and target mobile users. There are more options now than ever for planning, tracking, and adjusting campaigns to continuously improve results.
Here are a few tips, to keep pace with the latest techniques to earn the best possible return on investment.
1) Measure everything – You can’t manage what you can’t measure. Mining all the data related to a mobile campaign provides smarter decisions. Every possible element can impact results including manufacturer, device, operating system, carrier, etc. The key to maximizing the mobile opportunity is identifying every single factor that can provide the required level of targeting to yield the best results.
2) Look for lifetime customer value – Quantity is not everything, quality also matters. Now, more than ever advertisers are monitoring average revenue per user, to optimize around their most profitable customers. For example, in the gaming world, it is not enough to aim for the maximum number of downloads. It is advisable to track and optimize the long term relationship that customers have with the product and continuously renew and update users’ interactions with the brand by promoting virtual products, upgrades and new versions.
3) Optimize for the device – Owners of different smart phone manufacturers behave differently. Blackberry owners tend not to be gamers, Android owners have different purchase patterns to iPhone users, and according to a recent report by the Online Publishers Association, tablets have one of the highest conversion rates. The report revealed that 38% of iPad and tablet owners have purchased items after having seen ad content on their devices. Understanding how different consumers interact with your brand, and the mobile device they prefer, can boost mobile ad effectiveness.
4) Timing is everything – Lunchtime is traditionally the best time of day to deliver mobile ads, for all advertisers with ad interaction rates on mobile ad networks peaking around midday. Some brands, like restaurants and food services, aim for the times of day that food is top of mind for consumers. Mobile game advertisers have learned the best time to reach users is on the weekend. There is no one solution, but monitoring response rates can be critical for determining the optimal time to serve ads for the best return on investment.
5) Build a social community around the ad- Facebook is proving to be an effective model to complement mobile advertising, especially now that Facebook advertising is also available on mobile devices. Although the jury is still out on the full effectiveness and how to optimize the opportunity Facebook has proven to be an important element for keeping customers loyal. Advertisers have achieved great results by leveraging a fan page to boost repeat purchases, with seasonal offers and product updates.
6) Don’t rule out feature phones – in some developing countries, especially in Asia, a high percentage of conversions are on feature phones where click-through rates (CTR) have been growing at a better rate than even the iPhone. Features phones are especially important in India where consumers are purchasing goods and services through their carriers instead of using credit cards.
7) Design for the mobile – The smaller screen demands simpler headlines and a few very basic navigation options where simplicity is key. It’s important for visitors to have access to what is most crucial, and as little else as possible. In addition, it is advisable that, as part of the conversion process, the purchase can be made directly from the cell phone rather than sending visitors to an external payment process.
The devices and behavioural patterns of users keep evolving, and perhaps the most useful tip of all for advertisers is that they must keep pace with the constant change to maximize revenues.
There are always new ideas and tools out there to make mobile marketing a more reliable and productive tool for marketers.
About the author
Inbar Chap, Deputy CEO served for 5 years as DSNR’s Head of Media Buying & Internet Campaigns, and later became co-Founder & co-CEO of DSNR Media Group. Bringing the media perspective as well as a profound understanding of advertisers’ needs, she was instrumental in the establishment of DMG’s advertising network and its rapid positioning as one of the top 5 European ad networks, with over 350 clients worldwide – placing the company at the forefront of the global media industry. Inbar established the Mobile Marketing Division and leads its quickly expanding activities.