Mobile is still fairly new, but there are a lot of signs that this market is heating up. Smartphone adoption has been on a steady incline year over year. Screen sizes have also gotten bigger, introducing the “phablet” to markets worldwide. These changes represent opportunities for marketers with a strategic approach to mobile marketing.
Video is Crucial
You could say that mobile users are engaged with their phones. Think about how often you see people going about their day, in line at a Starbucks for instance, and moving forward without looking up from their phones. That kind of engagement makes mobile video appealing to advertisers. Video ads inserted before or during content tend to hold the user’s attention because the smartphone was the distraction the user sought in the first place.
Geography is Key
Hyper local targeting is the name of the game for mobile. Users are on the go, and their queries reflect that. We already know local searches account for almost half of all search traffic. Mobile offers targeted to specific areas are more likely to reach your ideal customer base.
Try Everything
Bigger screens mean that mobile display advertising isn’t dead either, so in-content ads are still relevant. Start with the low hanging fruit, like geo and behavioral targeting, and then see what kind of conversion data you get from your campaigns.
Mobile has become important, but the potential conversions cannot supplant most desktop campaigns. The solution is trying several types of campaigns, scaling slowly as you discover what works.
Bio: Ted Dhanik is the CEO and co-founder of engage:BDR, a digital advertising company headquartered in Los Angeles. Since the early 2000s, Ted Dhanik has been developing engaging advertising at companies like MySpace.com and LowerMyBills.com. Ted Dhanik is also a thought leader who blogs frequently for Venture Beat.