7 Reasons For Advertisers To Think Mobile First

Downplaying the mobile role in advertising is a mistake. The number of smartphone users this year is set to surpass two billion, with two hundred million of them in the United States alone, according to eMarketer. And with 42% of mobile users considering mobile the most important resource in their purchasing process (according to a study by xAd and Telmetrics), these devices are becoming an increasingly important marketing platform. In fact, the issue should be important enough to command attention at the highest levels of a company – but that isn’t always the case. “From my experience, there is a certain lack of knowledge and understanding about mobile on the executive end,” says Jason Rothman, mobile and social general manager at Steelhouse, an award-winning advertising software company. “The further you go up in a company, there is less involvement in tech and what’s actually happening on the ground in the mobile and social world.” If you need more ammunition to help rally everyone around the importance of a “mobile first” approach to advertising, here are seven points to make:

1. Mobile is where people shop.

A full 81% of consumers research purchases on a mobile device first, according to RetailingToday. If you see a product that interests you, the first instinct is to reach for your phone or tablet.

2. Mobile advertising is contextual.

If an ad does well in a certain app, you can make sure it appears in other apps that appeal to the same customers.

3. Mobile purchasing is easy.

Especially with lower price- point items, it just takes a couple of clicks to make a purchase.

4. Mobile advertising reaches you at the right place and time.

If a customer has expressed interest in a product and is within a half-mile of the store where it’s sold, you can send them a coupon or discount offer immediately. “Immediacy tied to location – that’s where the world is going,” says Rothman. “To me, that’s a gold mine.”

5. Mobile advertising goes hand-in-hand with your other advertising.

A customer who purchases on a desktop may very well have seen an ad on their mobile device first. With the cross-device capability of companies like Steel-House, that activity can be tracked and optimized with the aid of a customized strategy.

6. Mobile ads are optimized for mobile devices.

Consider that most people now check email on their mobile. How good does an email look on a mobile screen? Not too great – mobile ads on the other hand deliver the same message but are designed to display on mobile, and make for a better user experience.

7. Users are more tolerant of mobile ads.

Desktop ads are increasingly the subject of ad blocker software. The reason in-app ads are so effective is because users are aware that ads are the price to pay for getting an app for free. Mobile is fast transforming how we live, but before you jump in with both feet, learn how to optimize the user experience. Test the waters by either launching an app of your own, or creating a Facebook or Snapchat page to facilitate sales. “The better the user experience you can offer, the more you should invest in mobile,” says Rothman, noting that mobile-first brands are experiencing conversion rates of 50% or more higher than traditional desktop companies. “Once you’re confident that you have a great app or a good mobile website, the majority of your advertising money should go to social and mobile.”