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Mobile marketing in 2016 – A review
Marketers know that mobile use is on the rise, but how many event organisers are adjusting their strategy to capitalise on mobile marketing opportunities?
With the help of KPCB’s 2016 internet trends report, we take a look at the current state of the market and where event organisers can potentially exploit a few opportunities.
The growth of mobile has now reached the point where it is more popular than desktop.
In the 2015, mobile hit its all time high and now has a higher usage rate than the traditional desktop. But what does this mean for event organisers? First off, you MUST have a website that performs as well on mobile as it does on desktop. This shift in usage could even lead to a change in strategy, will marketers soon be developing mobile first instead of desktop?
Advertising spend has yet to catch up
Looking at this graph we can see that mobile ad spend has not yet caught up with the rate of consumption (rate was at 8% in 2015). If you’re thinking there are opportunities here, you are certainly correct. But you need to take into account the fact that mobile conversion rates are much lower than their desktop counterparts…Which brings us onto the next slide.
Adblocking is on the rise
The focus on brands using mobile advertising has led to a significant rise in consumers installing adblocking software on their devices, and at a much faster rate than people did for desktop. This tells us that people don’t want to be bombarded with ads and are taking measures to prevent it. So if there are opportunities to take advantage of in mobile advertising but consumers are using adblockers, what are the ways in engaging with these people? Well first off, let’s take a look at the most relevant demographic, the millennial.
Millennials are the new kids on the block and it’s important to consider them as a target audience. Now your target market may not specifically be 18-34 year olds, but this is still relevant for you as we want to understand their ‘attitudes’ towards technology. The key points that stand out to me is that social media is important, they stream video media, technology is essential and that they are ready to spend. With this is mind, we can start to focus in on our message and how we will deliver it.
Don’t be boring
From the list of ways ads can work show above, the top two answers are authentic and entertaining. This means that our ads need to be seamlessly integrated with their current browsing. For example, a person goes on social media to be social, not to look at ads. To avoid the disruption of their behaviour, our ads need to need to fall in line with what our target audience is interested in. This is achieved through a combination of clever design and also well targeted ads.
Where should we engage with our audience?
Facebook leads average monthly minutes and percentage reach by a long way over its competitors. But on the flip side, they are also one of the most expensive platforms to use. Up and coming networks like Snapchat are forcing brands to rethink their strategy and go to where the audience is. Remember what we said about millennials being early adopters? If you’re struggling with deciding what social platform to dedicate resources to, check out our blog on where you should promote your event online. Going back to the point we made earlier, the goal is make your ad blend in seamlessly with whatever platform the user is on. Don’t let your material stick out like a sore thumb!
Snapchat example
Here’s an example of video ads that do work, they are authentic and entertaining. One can safely assume that young millennials on Snapchat have an interest in music or film, which is why the adverts worked so well. Put the same video on Instagram or Twitter? Different results.
Whilst there are opportunities to had in the mobile market, it is important that you first understand your target audience. Evidenced in the slides, consumers on mobile are taking preventative measures to block traditional forms of advertising. As marketers, we need to adapt our message to fit the channels that the people consume our content on and take advantage of this trend.
One interesting statistic from James Allgrove of Stripe, he mentions that, ‘Although mobile has now overtaken desktop in terms of usage, mobile only accounts for 15% of online transactions’. This is another great opportunity for marketers and developers alike to create campaigns that are not only visually engaging but also allow instant purchase. With the rise of biometrics and other functionality on our devices, payment platforms are making it easier than ever to pay for goods instantly in a secure way.
Have you adopted a ‘mobile first’ strategy to you marketing? We would love to hear about it!
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