Is Mobile Advertising Right For Your Business?

How to know if your marketing campaign should include mobile advertising When it comes to taking on an effective marketing campaign, mobile advertising has likely crossed your mind. After all, its popularity has skyrocketed as it becomes ever more clear that it can point the way to the future for many businesses. Mobile advertising is quite similar to online marketing, except that it is geared toward a slightly different delivery technology. That said, according to the CTIA (the international association for the wireless telecommunications industry), on average, mobile advertising comprises only 1% of the total advertising budgets among all marketing campaigns in the United States. American businesses picking up on this technique currently have the opportunity to take advantage of the same method to which companies in France, Japan, and Spain, are already dedicating a whopping 44% of their marketing budgets. As U.S. consumers are not yet being flooded with mobile advertising messages, it means that those businesses who are using this technique have the chance to grab a recipient’s attention in a highly effective manner, before they become desensitized to the technique as a whole. What is mobile advertising? Mobile advertising comes in many different forms. It is defined only by the fact that it is delivered to its viewers by way of a cell phone. This can come in the form of texts, SMS advertising or web banners, or even ads found in different apps such as games. They can also be delivered by way of video or audio played on a cellular device through an interaction with any of various services. Who can receive mobile advertising? Among the cell phone models that are currently available around the world, 98% are capable of receiving some form of text message – mobile advertising at its most basic. That said, texting is also an extremely low-cost marketing opportunity. In fact, some cellular service providers offer packages that will allow up to an unlimited number of text messages every month, so it is possible to pay for a single affordable package that will permit you to send a text directly to as many people as you can contact. That said, text ads are one of the most commonly used form of mobile advertising and, like email ads, people are becoming frustrated with the quantity they are receiving and have started deleting this type of message without reading them. You will need to send out a large number of text ads in order to generate enough interest to make it worth your while.
What about rich media mobile advertising? Now that smart phones are significantly increasing in popularity, so are the opportunities for different kinds of mobile advertising. Smartphones allow you to use rich media for your marketing, which means that your ads can be much more creative, dramatic, and dynamic, so that they will have a notably larger impact on the recipient. Rich media makes it easier to engage your customers with interactive marketing that they will find highly appealing, such as with games, video, and sound. Though rich media mobile advertising does lead to positive results among a much larger percentage of the people who receive them, it also requires a great deal more expertise for design and creation. The budget required for this type of marketing generally makes it prohibitive for small and medium sized businesses. What are the latest developments in mobile advertising? Among the newest advancements in mobile advertising is geo-location. These ads are location-based and allow businesses to target the a hyper-local market. This technique appeals to consumers as it allows them to explore their city or region in a more fun and effective way. As of yet, it remains brand new and comprises only a small percentage of all mobile advertising techniques that are currently used. While this method has shown great potential in its efficacy because it reaches individuals when the business is convenient to them, there are some people who dislike it because they feel that it infringes on their privacy. If you choose to use this method, it is recommended that you send the ads only to individuals who have signed up to receive them, or that you use a geo-location program that functions through an opt-in database. While mobile advertising is catching the eye of marketers, it continues to evolve and is not without its struggles. With a sizeable enough budget and through the assistance of mobile advertising experts who will design and implement the proper campaign, this technique can lead to tremendous exposure and a rewarding ROI.