In 2015, online mobile search surpassed desktop search for the first time in the history of the Internet. That trend has continued to move on an upward trajectory. According to eMarketer, mobile devices will this year exceed all media consumption by 25%. And according to another study by the Digital Marketing Experts, more than two thirds of customer traffic for search Optics clients come from mobile devices.
In other words, mobile has revolutionized digital marketing industry globally, and Canada is no exception. Of all the changing trends in the marketing world, mobile happens to be the most dramatic. For marketers and advertisers, mobile provides a big opportunity for growth and exploration. According to Smaato, Mobile can be described as the engine of the overall global marketing industry, thanks to the endless amount of time consumers spend on their smartphones and other mobile devices like tablets.
Why Mobile Advertising In Canada Is Becoming Popular
Conservatory statistics by Statistics Canada show that 76% of Canadians own a smartphone. Of those who own a smartphone, more than three quarters are internet users. This means that majority of those who own a smartphone use it to access and search the Internet. Although the older generation of smartphone owners use it primarily to read emails, check the weather and read news, the younger generation is using it as alternative to face-to-face interactions, i.e. social media.
Whichever way you look at it, mobile is offering the most streamlined, mobile-friendly opportunity for advertisers to reach their audience wherever they are. More interestingly to note is that fact that more Canadians prefer fast 4G LTE mobile connections. Advertisers can now take advantage of these faster connections to offer data-based advertising.
Many Canadians Are Spending More Time On Mobile
Did you know the average Canadian spends more time on their smartphones than on any other media, except the TV? Data from Statistics Canada show an interesting trend whereby consumers in Canada have consistently increased the time spent on mobile devices since 2012. Cumulatively, consumers now spend an hour more on their mobile devices than on any other media. Marketers and advertisers now have a great opportunity to reach their audience because chances of reaching their target audience continue to rise due to increasing mobile penetration and time spent on those mobile devices. Canadians spend an average of 2 hours and 16 minutes daily on their mobile devices. An important consideration when planning your advertising budget, therefore, is the fact that people are spending more and more time on mobile devices at the expense of Desktop and TV.
Marketers Must Learn To Adopt To The Changing Times
It is quite interesting to note that marketers are still not fully taking advantage of the time spent by consumers on their mobile devices to increase their digital advertising budgets. Although the percentage of time consumers spend on their mobile devices is about 25%, marketers only spend 17% of their digital advertising budgets on mobile advertising. It is like many marketers are still stuck on the old ways of doing things. It is advisable to invest in mobile advertising if you want to improve your sales.
Directly Reach Your Customers Using These Tips
Having looked at key stats and trends in terms of mobile landscape in Canada, it is important for marketers to learn how to effectively reach their audience.
1. Respect The User.
First things first—marketers and advertisers must appreciate the fact that majority of Canadians prefer to access the internet via their mobile devices. In fact, mobile users want to decide when, where and how they can access the internet and interact with their brands. As a marketer, you have to respect that. In the spirit of respecting the user, bombarding them with unwanted, intrusive ads may be counterproductive. Users must be able to decide whether they want to view or dismiss the ad right away.
2. Are Your Ad Formats Mobile Friendly?
Your desktop ads cannot look fine on smartphones and tablets. It is therefore important to use mobile-friendly ads that will render seamlessly on mobile screens. Just imagine what would happen if your ad cannot display correctly. The user will most likely get rid of it because it has become an inconvenience.
3. Personalize Your Mobile Ads.
Nowadays, people don’t just crave for personalized advertising, they demand it. Fortunately, mobile advertising makes personalized advertising very easy. Consumers want to see ads that are specific to them based on their preferences, sex, geographical location and age, among others.
4. Target The Right Audience.
It does not matter how much money and time you spend on mobile advertising. You will not get the right results if your mobile ads are not reaching the right audience. Your audience will likely to be receptive to your message if they are the right audience. You can use Geofencing to target the right audience. For instance, one can receive ads on gym equipment if they are next to a sporting facility.
5. Make Sure Your Users Are Engaged.
Once you have targeted the right audience, it is important to ensure that the user is engaged and is responding favourably to your ads in order to increase your conversions. One way to keep users engaged is through the use of interactive videos. According to studies, you are more likely to register higher conversion rates if you post interactive videos than using plain text ads. To be even more effective, it is advisable that one uses a variety of videos to your audience.
6. Measure Results.
Identify your key performance indicators and use them to measure results. For instance, one of your key ad performance indicator would be the number of views and clicks your video has generated versus the number of conversions. This will help you to identify which ads are performing well and which ones are not. Doing so will help you to tweak your ads until you find the most effective ad formats.
7. Integrate Social Media.
As we have already mentioned, majority of smartphone users are young people who use their smartphones to interact with others. Social media platforms therefore provide a fertile ground for targeting this segment of the online population. Having an active social media presence is critical in this time and age because that is where the consumers are spending most of their time. Throughout the day, people are checking their Facebook feed, reading tweets, liking pictures, commenting, sharing and watching videos online. Advertising on social media is no longer just an option.
Mobile usage is on the rise and has already overtaken desktop usage. This is significant and any marketer would want to explore ways of taking advantage of this trend. Marketers must now learn to adjust their marketing and advertising practices so as to reflect this new reality lest they find themselves in a quagmire of lost opportunities. Indeed, mobile is the new engine of global advertising and every marketer should embrace it as such.
About the Author: Joe Ryan
What does the future hold for mobile advertising? Is it safe to assume mobile advertising is another fad that will fade away? Alternatively, is it a new trend that must be embraced by all marketers if they are to survive the ever-raging wave of technological change? It is impossible to survive the new marketing […]
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