With Facebook rumoured to be launching mobile ads in the coming weeks, Golley Engage looks at one of the most hotly contested forms of digital advertising
The mobile marketing industry has been growing fast in recent years, analysts at Informa Media & Telecoms estimated market growth of 51 per cent in 2011, equating to an impressive $5.3bn. With Facebook rumoured to be launching mobile ads in the coming weeks, Golley Engage looks at one of the most hotly contested forms of digital advertising, and asks how one avoids alienating customers on such a potentially intrusive platform.
The explosion of the iPhone and other large screen tablet and smartphone devices has opened up the industry to some really exciting opportunities. Mobile marketing offers a way for brands to be truly relevant to users, in real-time and in a specific location.
Successful mobile campaigns recognise what will appeal to consumers while they are mobile. What works for a user sitting at their computer will not necessarily work for a customer on the move; mobile marketing must leverage the utility of the device (e.g. click-to-call, click-to-store locater, click-to-buy on iTunes). Brands need to think smart, and tactical, remembering the golden rules of remaining entertaining or useful to the end user. That said, brands should not be afraid to try new things, the mobile landscape is uncluttered and is generating high CTRs and user engagement. Brands looking to impress should look to mobile.
According to the stats, “beyond-the-banner” advertising offers the highest response levels amongst consumers. Home page takeover ads, which users can interact with as the desired content is loading, have seen double-digit CTRs. Searches on smartphones and tablets where Google can show ads doubled during last year, attributing its success to new ad formats such as allowing users to “click to call” local businesses.
If the FT report is true, the stakes are high. Facebook is looking to mobilise (no pun intended) its 425-million active mobile users, to help secure its piece of a pie that is going to top $2 billion in the U.S. alone this year.
It seems that Facebook is looking to follow its strategy to provide new ad formats through its mobile platforms. Facebook Sponsored Stories and well targeted adverts, served up based on age, location or interests, will offer big brands a real incentive to engage. However, with a privacy policy as long as your arm, Facebook will struggle to convince users that this is not another crude way of capitalising on personal data shared in good faith; what is more, it is important that brands exercise the same caution. With a recent report indicating that adults in the US would rather give up chocolate, caffeine and even sex than their mobile phones, one thing is obvious, this is one platform on which advertisers should tread carefully. So, how do you create great user engagement without seeming intrusive to the very people you want to court?
Here’s our top five tips:
1. Keep it simple – Users want fast access to relevant information, too many clicks or copy-heavy pages and you’ll lose them.
2. GPS is king. Users want services that recognise location. Interactive maps and offering useful content specific to location is key.
3. Embrace your limitations. The screen on a smartphone is smaller than that on a PC. Make every word count.
4. Mobile networks are good, but perhaps not THAT good. Remember mobile devices still fall short of broadband speeds. Keep pages, images and file sizes small.
5. Exploit the functionality. A mobile phone is no longer just a mobile phone; it’s a camera, a calendar, a video player, a video recorder, a browser and much, much more. Why not offer users great content?
The next five years will be integral as the rise of mobile marketing takes users by storm, and smart brands will look to take advantage of this. Get creative, get clever and above all, don’t get left behind.
February 7th, 2012
