Mobile advertising is on the rise, for the simple reason that people are more likely to use their smartphone than any other device for browsing the internet. Mobile ads have, thus, evolved as a species of their own – quite different from computer browser ads.
With the expansion of mobile advertising, marketers tried and tested almost everything to make people tap and buy. And some trends emerged, while others were sunken by a lack of response. As relatively new grounds, the do’s and don’ts in mobile advertising are still in the process of sifting and settling. However, there are certain issues which are apparent and should be known to you before you start creating your mobile ad campaigns.
Following these trends, or being aware of their implications, will directly influence your ad spending and your ROI. Therefore, these are the biggest mobile advertising trends ruling the digital marketing world right now:
- Interactive Ads Are All That Jazz
The top difference between clicking a mouse button and tapping a mobile screen is the physical contact and interaction with the ad. And it does make all the difference! By using haptic technology, advertisers give mobile phone users the sense of actually touching, pushing and dragging items on the screen.
This type of interaction is one of the top reasons why people respond better to mobile ads than computer ads. They are immersed in the experience of interacting with the ad, and feel in control of what they are doing. The simple act of dragging an item across the screen or pushing a button is a conscious decision rewarded by tactile stimulation.
- Native Ads and Branded Content Rule the Game
People hate being sold things. They want to feel in control and believe that the decision to buy belongs to them alone, not to an ad popping up on their mobile screens. There is also the issue of intrusion – mobile ads take up, proportionally, more screen area than computer browser ads.
Native ads are less disruptive, by comparison. They can be consumed as valuable content, fit in the app or web screen which the user is browsing, and provide actual value. In turn, the user will begin to trust the business and become curious to discover its products.
- Programmatic Advertising Is on the Rise
How do mobile ads get created? Well, ultimately, people are behind the decision, but the actual work is done by various APIs. More and more companies trust automated processes to purchase, create and display ads for mobile users. While the final approval is still given by the buyer, the API algorithm performs the distribution.
This is a great idea from the point of view of saving time. But it is also fraught with dangers of advertising fraud. As various investigations have exposed click farms – places where hundreds of mobile devices are remote controlled to click on ads and artificially increase ad spending – companies using programmatic advertising need to keep a very close eye on the analytic data and performances of their ads.
- Chatbots Are Taking Over
Direct interactions with customers are now handled by artificial intelligence – chatbots. They are programmed to be able to provide answers to specific questions, recognise keywords in the responses and decide on the next sentence. Chatbots have been already implemented in Facebook™ Messengers and on various online stores.
They can add value to the interaction between your business and its prospects, by guiding them and providing real time customer assistance to them. Continuous research in this field will probably lead to tremendous improvements in the way chatbots can mimic human emotions, thought process and verbal interactions.
- Monetisation of Direct Messaging Apps
The success of FaceTime, Facebook™ Messenger, WhatsApp and WeChat show that people want to take a break from their social media newsfeed and communicate directly between each other. Companies are allowed to join these services and interact with customers for free, for now. But, just as we have seen the demise of organic reach on the main social media platforms, we will soon become witnesses to paid services for direct messaging between business accounts and individuals, as well as the appearance of ads, in one form or another, on live chat services.