Over the past couple years the trends have been obvious when it comes to mobile devices… Big is in.
It seems like mobile phones get bigger every day. These phones have captured the interest of the market and seem to be in the driver’s seat.
Interestingly larger phones create several opportunities for marketers as these devices show some exciting trends. For instance, larger screen sizes strongly correlate with increased minutes of app usage. (Modida) These larger screen devices increase engagement and increase engagement creates revenues as well.
Remember that what worked when you originally released your app for the iPhone 4 may not be the best solution now. Its time to update your app and rather than just giving it a minor facelift, you may will want to look at changes in the market and adapt. You will reap the rewards of doing this before starting your mobile application development project.
Big phones and phablets are everywhere we look, but how do brands and marketers take advantage of this trend?
Use the space
You have more space—use it. When it comes to mobile applications this trend presents some exciting new opportunities for mobile application development. More space means more opportunity – go bigger and go bolder. Don’t be afraid to make navigation or social buttons big enough to tap with ease. Interactive features and calls to action should be easy to spot. No user likes to accidentally click the wrong button and you don’t want to put them into the position to do so.
Let creative stretch its legs with big, bold offers and recommendations. The space is there so you might as well use it.
Understand the size difference
Often users use larger phones or phablets different than they would a smaller device. Make sure you keep that in mind as you layout navigation and organize your application. A layout that worked well on an iPhone 4 may not be optimum for the current market. Don’t just stick with what worked in the past. You may want to consider moving important controls from the top of the screen down to improve reachability.
Look at your media
Users love watching videos on phablet and tablet screens—don’t leave them wanting. Mobile is maturing and so should your applications and media. Not only do your controls need to take into account the larger device size but you need to consider that users will interact with a larger device differently and have different exceptions from it content wise as well.
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Mobile ad spending is skyrocketing around the world. This year mobile ad spending in the United States is expected to increase an astounding 50% and account for essentially half of all digital ad spending (eMarketer). By 2019 this number is expected to continue to grow to nearly three quarters of all digital ad spending.
Mobile marketing is an entirely new medium where some new rules apply.
Whether you are planning on building a mobile web site, mobile application development or a mobile marketing program, to make sure you get the most from your mobile marketing make sure you follow these 4 tips.
Viewability
Your business cannot rely on outdated metrics like clicks or impressions. You want to make sure your ad is seen. Make sure you place ads where consumers will see them. Viewability is more of a watchword than ever before for good reason.
Relevance
Reach your customers with a relevant message. Make sure that consumers find value in your message, ask your self if the app on which you are advertising make sense for your message. Don’t focus on what is cool, rather focus on what is relevant. Businesses can spend a lot of time and money on a big campaign on the hippest app to only lose out due to a lake of relevance with the audience. You need to picture yourself as one of the apps users and determine if your message is relevant and will resonate with the users.
Personalize
Mobile devices are very personal which is part of the reason that mobile ads are so effective. Personalize your message and users generally pay more attention (personalized push notifications, etc) than they do to banner ads.
Timing
Pay attention to the timing of your messaging. Consider your customers and their habits. If you can deliver the right offer at the right time with the right message you will hit pay dirt. Timing can be as important as location and relevance in improving the effectiveness of your messaging.
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When it comes advertising, context is king.
Simply having a bunch of people see your advertising is no longer good enough; your message now can, and should, be sent to reach the right people in the right place. Your ad impressions will mean something in the eyes of the right audience.
Fortunately with the growth of mobile, this is easier than ever before with Geo-targeting. Mobile and geo-targeting allow you to deliver personalized content at the precise moment the user might need it, while they are at a location that presents an opportunity for them to do so.
There are many ways to set up location based marketing programs. From the device’s own GPS to exciting opportunities with Augmented Reality the sky really is the limit right now for clever marketers. Add to this the opportunities to leverage near field communication or beacons and some incredibly powerful marketing opportunities exist.
One of the more clever location based marketing programs has come from Guatemala, where sneaker store Meat Pack has released a discount finding app called Hijack. Hijack will basically start a sale for a customer when they enter in a competing outlet. So if you were to enter a sneaker store in the same mall as Meat Pack, Hijack would send you a discount for sneakers of the same brand. The discount then goes down one percent per second so the faster you can get to Meat Pack to redeem the offer, the more you save. Meat Pack reported that more than 600 customers redeemed offers within a week.
On the other hand, Chrysler saw poor results when delivering ads near competitor’s locations. Purchases that require extensive research such as a new auto are different than impulse buys like shoes and marketing must be done differently. You will need to evaluate your business and competition to see what is best for you. Experienced mobile application developers can help, but be sure to take a good look at your product and customers before implementing a location based marketing program.
Chrysler saw success delivering messaging on their own lots. In fact, mobile has been so successful for Chrysler that 45 percent of the brand’s traffic now comes from mobile.
Keep in mind that offers don’t need to be targeted quite so precisely to be effective. Research has shown that ads delivered with a 2-5 mile radius of a business is optimum for performance. Meanwhile ads delivered 6 or more miles away saw rapidly reducing effectiveness, which just points to the power of location based marketing.
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