Despite the fact that over half of all internet traffic is coming from mobile devices, mobile advertising and media plans are often still treated as last-minute afterthoughts, like trendy little add-ons to the “real” marketing plan. The time for this kind of thinking is over. Way over.
At Code Conference 2015, Mary Meeker shared her 2015 Internet Trends Report that showed that nearly three-quarters of all Americans had smartphones in 2014, and over 69 percent of all internet use took place on a mobile device. When it comes to time spent consuming all media (including print, radio, TV, internet, and mobile), almost a quarter of that time is spent on mobile devices. So why are advertisers only spending 8 percent of their budgets on mobile advertising? This disparity amounts to a $25 billion opportunity gap in the US alone.
“Mobile first” has long been a strategic process for web design that assumes smartphones and tablets are the primary devices for website consumption. Brands need to start making mobile the cornerstone of their marketing plans if they want to reach all those on-the-go users.
On the creative side, the creative teams I work with are thinking HTML5 from the start. A majority of publishers accept HTML5 ads for all browsers, allowing brands to engage customers with responsive animation. And to help increase conversion, we’re always looking to make the most of a smartphone’s click-to-buy, click-to-call, and GPS location capabilities.
At the core of the success of Instagram, Snapchat, Twitter, and Facebook is user-generated content. Self-made content creation has increased more than 75 percent over the past year, and with the launch of Periscope, people are live-streaming their everyday lives—and they’re hungry for live streams from brands they feel connected to. With new advertising formats on Pinterest, Instagram, and Snapchat, it is even more important for brands to think about creating authentic and engaging content as an ongoing and integral part of their marketing plans.
The meteoric ascension of mobile is too important to ignore. The world is going mobile. It’s time to focus your investment where your customers are.
