Not only is mobile advertising one of the newest forms of marketing, it is set to become the biggest and most successful method in coming years and decades. But for those in the marketing or advertising profession, there is a lot to know about mobile advertising.
Well be covering this subject in detail in this article, from the origins of mobile ads to the most modern ways advertisers are using them today.
Mobile Advertising
The of mobile advertising is any advertising that is done specifically on mobile applications or websites, or advertising that is targeted towards mobile users. Because mobile devices are being used now much more often than computers, mobile advertising is more important than ever. In fact, experts are predicting that within the next five years very few people will be using computers to work, play or browse the internet.
The fact is that mobile devices can do nearly everything that a computer can online, and in many cases, the mobile device can do it better. That’s why businesses are making mobile advertising their number one priority. But what does mobile advertising mean to the marketing professional, and how can you make sure that you were getting everything you should be getting out of your mobile advertising efforts?
The Current State of Mobile Advertising
In 2009, mobile advertising was just getting started. Even back then, digital advertising was estimated at $1.1 billion on computers and laptops while digital advertising revenue for mobile devices was estimated at $4.6 billion. But now, digital advertising has even surpassed television when it comes to ad revenue, and mobile makes up for most of that. As of 2016, digital ad revenue had increased to more than $72 billion from the $59.6 billion reported the previous year. It surpassed television advertising, which brought in just $71.3 billion.
How Is Mobile Advertising Done?
Mobile advertising, in many cases, works exactly the same as it does using the regular internet that you access with your desktop or laptop. Just as with your internet browser on your notebook computer, Google offers paid search advertising for keywords through their bid and pay-per-click program AdWords.
But there are some differences as well. For example, now you can pay to be featured within a pre-installed mobile app. That means that you can estimate your reach very accurately by knowing how many people have installed the app that you were advertising on. You are also able to advertise on mobile sites that have been designed specifically for those devices, as well as advertise on regular internet websites that are dynamic and change to be able to be viewed on all of the mobile devices out there.
The Advantages of Mobile Advertising
There are obviously some advantages to mobile advertising. Some are rather obvious, like the fact that mobile advertising has more reach then just about any other medium out there right now and it can only go up, but there may be some advantages that you haven’t even thought of yet.
For example, mobile advertising may be changing the way the people target their ads. Imagine if you owned a restaurant in the downtown area of your city or town, and you were able to specifically target people that were at work and had a lunch break coming up – and were only a few blocks away from your restaurant. In fact, you could target those who were at work as well as tourists, shoppers and anyone else who happened to be passing within a few blocks of your restaurant. If you were offering a deal, and those people were looking for a great lunch or dinner that was close to them, you would probably be one of their first choices.
That’s the power of mobile advertising. Being able to target advertisements two people that are at the right time place at the right time is just the beginning. Many experts are predicting that mobile advertising will change in advance so much in the next two decades that will be it will be almost unrecognizable. Privacy advocates are concerned because it may be possible for advertisers to find out about someone because of their mobile-use footprint; they can target a very select group of people and get conversion rates anywhere from 30% to 70%. Thats how powerful this medium could be in just a few years.
Challenges Facing Mobile Devices
However, there are challenges that face mobile advertisers. One example of this is how mobile device Developers and engineers are starting to run into bottlenecks when it comes to things like formats and battery life. Data is also a problem for some users, and while most mobile networks now have unlimited high-speed data plans, data usage keeps growing as well.
Mobile Advertising Services
There are a few different categories to be aware of when it comes to mobile advertising. Knowing what is out there, and what kind of tools are being offered to both the advertiser and the person selling the ad space is vital to being able to use mobile effectively.