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Why is Mobile Advertising Effective?

Research has shown that in 2019,190 billion U.S. dollars was spent on mobile advertising worldwide. By 2022 this amount is expected to surpass 280 billion U.S. dollars.

graph of USD spent on mobile advertising worldwide

Source: Statista

Reports by IAB indicated that advertisers tend to spend 63% of their total digital ad-spend on mobile advertising alone.

You must be thinking, why?

The answer is simple. The time spent on mobile devices surpasses the total time spent on desktops or laptops.

time spent online by device

Source: IAB

Digital marketing is in a rapidly evolving phase, and the upcoming roll out of 5G cell phone services is going to ensure that mobile phone internet access will be 20x faster.

This article walks you through some of the most important reasons why mobile advertising is ruling the digital ad world. 

Top reasons why mobile advertising is effective

The following are some of the most important reasons why advertisers are focusing their efforts towards mobile ads:

1. Accessibility

People keep their cell phones with them no matter where they are. Most phone internet service providers have a broad coverage, which means that you can be online, irrespective of your location. 

And this is exactly the reason why mobile advertising can reach your customers, no matter where they are.

In addition, you could also gain free publicity by word of mouth. Just imagine a scenario whereby your ad pops up on a target customer’s cell phone while he’s having a chat with his friends.

If the ad is compelling, enough chances are high that he may share the info with his friends as well.

2. More time is spent on mobile phones

Before looking for any statistical data, think about how much time you spend on the smartphone as compared to your desktop or laptop?

A survey done by Statista indicated that the number of people who use a cell phone in 2019 was at more than 4.5 billion.

With over 80% of the traffic coming from mobile devices, there is no other medium as good as mobile phones to deliver the advertising messages.

3. Cost-effectiveness

If you are running short of budget, advertising on cell phones is considered the most ideal medium.

This will only cost a fraction when compared to traditional forms of advertising such as television and print media.

4. Personalisation

With carefully targeted and personalized mobile advertising, you could gain more customer intimacy.

By sending personalized advertising messages, it is possible to know your customers at a different level altogether. 

And it goes without saying that personalised advertisements are very effective in increasing user engagement and boosting conversions.

5. More interactivity in advertising

Mobile advertising helps to deliver highly interactive ads with compelling formats and interactive contents. When customers are able to interact within an ad format (like answer to questions, quizzes, or hit a tab), they are more likely to remember the ad as well as the brand. 

In the long term, this is more like a brand marketing strategy targeted at increasing conversions. 

Additionally, it also helps to ensure that the ad quality is well maintained. 

6. Time factor

One major highlight of mobile advertising is that you will be able to reach your customers almost instantly.

Let’s accept the fact, we all tend to take a glance at our cell phones when a special notification arrives.

Since viewers tend to keep their cell phone with them most of the time, you will have the flexibility to send time-sensitive messages such as special events or notifications.

7. Helps in a more effective form of targeting

Unlike a personal computer or laptop, mobile phones help to gain an immense amount of information about users, which makes it a useful targeting tool.

Advertisers could easily segregate users based on relevant details such as:

  • Location information
  • Demographics
  • Age group
  • Mobility
  • Shopping habits
  • Online pages visited
  • Spending habits
  • Preferences & History 

Consumer information can be easily tracked using IP addresses and cookies. However, if the information comes through a desktop or a laptop, it may not be as accurate. This is because multiple users could be using the same information. 

However, mobile devices and their IDs are unique to each customer. The data that is generated through mobile devices is therefore more important. 

Additionally, modern technologies like location based advertising, proximity targeting, and so on can then be merged with this information to channel advertisements that are completely personalised and highly relevant to the receiver. 

Statistics prove that viewers usually pay more attention to targeted ads that are more relevant than random ads which peep into the mobile screen.

8. The benefit of multiple touchpoints

A PC is restricted by a single touchpoint, i.e. the internet.

Mobile advertising offers many more options to the publishers such as:

  • Mobile Internet
  • Multi-Media Messaging(MMS)
  • Text Messages (SMS)
  • Voicemail or missed call notification

9. Helps to gain direct user response

The interactive capabilities of a mobile phone help to remove several barriers in responding and helps to implement direct user response features such as: 

  • Click to purchase
  • Click to call
  • Click to SMS etc. 

10. Can be effective even with less content

This format of advertising does not necessarily need detailed content and text information. Ads can be effectively created even with a few headlines and impressionable images. The idea is to engage the user and grab their attention. 

Needless to mention, costs are significantly reduced when the need for content goes down. 

Conclusion

Unlike other forms of advertising strategies, mobile advertising is immensely beneficial due to it’s more extensive accessibility, cost-effectiveness and most importantly, personalisation.  

With all these advantages in the offering, mobile ads are definitely here to stay and rule the world of digital marketing for some time. 

If you are an advertiser who makes use of cell phone advertising, be assured that you have chosen the best advertising strategy to leverage your business.