What is Mobile Advertising?

Mar 9, 2022 | Display Advertising

As technology has evolved over the last three decades, so too has the world of advertising evolved. Within the last ten years, this joint evolution has given rise to mobile advertising. In a world where customers spend a large amount of their time on their smartphones, mobile advertising is a valuable option for serving ads where customers are mostly likely to see them. Mobile advertising relates to serving ads that people see while on their phones, which most often includes mobile-optimized display ads, push notifications, and even mobile apps.

Why is Mobile Advertising Important?

Mobile advertising has become so popular that it has outperformed desktop advertising since 2016, generating nearly twice the ad revenue in 2021. Over 77% of Americans currently own a smartphone, giving businesses the opportunity to reach a massive audience. It also gives the option of becoming extremely precise with targeting options, including displaying ads to people who live in or have visited a specific area, have certain interests, meet certain demographics, and more.

The Different Types of Mobile Advertising

Much like most other forms of digital marketing, mobile advertising isn’t just one set type of campaign. It includes a number of different options, giving businesses the ability to customize their mobile campaigns for maximum reach and effectiveness. The different types of mobile advertising include:

  • App-Based Marketing

Mobile advertising that is hosted on apps. Ads can display in a few different forms, including banner, in-feed, video, and more.

  • Location-Based Marketing

Location-based marketing takes advantage of the fact that most people carry their smartphones with them at all times. Utilizing general information about a person’s location, businesses have the option to target ads to people when they enter a certain area, or remarket to people after they’ve visited their physical location.

  • Mobile Search Ads

Search engines offer multiple ad placement options that cater to mobile users. They also offer unique benefits, such as click-to-call or click-to-map options.

  • SMS

SMS marketing allows businesses to text users with special offers or notifications. This option can require some time to build an audience for, as it requires users to opt-in to receive your messages, it can be a great way to re-engage past sales or leads that have fallen out of the sales funnel.

  • Social Media Marketing

Both organic posts and paid ads can appear on social media feeds, and can generate a lot of valuable traffic. Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram are currently the most popular social media platforms for advertising due to the large audiences, but some smaller platforms like Snapchat also offer valuable advertising opportunities.

How to Run a Successful Mobile Advertising Campaign

Perhaps the most important part of running a successful mobile advertising campaign is ensuring that your website is mobile-friendly. Even if you are utilizing an ad that doesn’t necessarily direct users to your website, there is still a good chance they may look you up to check for ratings and reviews. One of the things that users find least appealing about a business is a website that doesn’t display properly on their phone. 

If your site isn’t mobile-optimized, or if you are interested in getting professional guidance on running mobile ads, contact Gulf Coast Web today. We have decades of experience in managing digital marketing campaigns for businesses across all industries. Our staff consists of highly-trained web design and digital marketing professionals who are both passionate about their jobs and excel at what they do. And unlike many other design agencies, we have a content writer with over 10 years of experience on-staff to handle everything from ad copy to blogs to social media posts. Contact us today to book a consultation with our team. We look forward to outlining exactly how we can help you grow your business with our digital media agency services.