Friday, October 16, 2015

5 Ways To Have Effective Mobile Ads

Being in the industry for some time, I've came across different businesses that wants to start a mobile ad campaign, because they say it's the most effective way to reach their consumers, since almost everyone nowadays has a mobile device. When further asked, what is it that they want to achieve in doing a mobile campaign, most say, "I just have a new product launch and I want people to know about it", or "I want to drive them to my company website for sign-ups and get leads". While you can do both using mobile ads, there are also some effective ways on how we can deliver the message and drive quality traffic to be able to achieve those objectives.

If you want to run an effective mobile ad campaign, here are some important tips:

1. Ensure Landing Pages Are Geared for Mobile Devices

This the single most important rule. If your site isn't optimized for mobile, DON'T use mobile ads to drive them there. Nobody likes to zoom in and scroll left to right to read information, therefore your landing page needs to be either adaptive or responsive to cater to various screen sizes. Also, when the mobile user clicks on a mobile ad, they expect bite-sized information, and if there is a form it should not be more than 4 fields. If you don't have one, be prepared for high drop-offs and bounce rates.

2. Size Matters! Use Large Banner Ad Units (where possible)

Mobile devices have relatively smaller screens compared to desktops. Hence, you wouldn't want the mobile user to squint their eyes trying to read your message or identify your brand. Using larger ad units also has an impact of click-through rates as the table below clearly shows.


Source: Appflood.com


3. But It's NOT all about Click-through Rates (CTR%)

When was the last time you clicked on an ad on your mobile device? Ok, let me rephrase, when was the last time you ACCIDENTALLY clicked on an ad on your mobile device? Chances are, that you most likely clicked on one by accident rather than you actually wanting to view details on the ad because mobile ads are small in nature, and your fingers are usually larger than even the 'close' button on the top corner (hence point #2 above).That is also one of the reasons why CTR% are also higher compared to desktop ads. Therefore,
you should look beyond just CTR% when you want to measure a campaign's success due to these accidental clicks.

4. K-I-S-S (Keep It Short & Simple)

Studies will show that most users on mobile have short attention span and want quick information and not long a winded type article explaining on how a certain product works. Therefore, information and messages should be short and straight to the point with a clear call to action. Bear in mind that real estate on mobile ads are also limited.

5. Explore Rich Media

Rich media banners (or banners running on HTML5), can deliver high engagements at the same time fulfilling points #2 and #4 above. Most rich media banners starts off as a simple banner, but with clicked, it expands to a full screened mini-site that allows more information to be displayed, as well as enable videos and different interactions using the mobile device's functionalities (camera, gyroscope, GPS, etc).