News flash: Mobile is HUGE!
Actually that's not news at all. It's been happening for a while and is continuing. What the marketing challenge is, is that it has a big audience, but it is very difficult to have a big marketing bang. We can start with the obvious issue of ad blockers. But it's more than that. The mobile user is not interested in being served ads in return for content. So, although there's endless talk about the growth of mobile media, there's very few solutions for creating effective mobile marketing impact.
It's not to say there's nothing businesses can do to be more effective on mobile. The most basic thing is to ensure that your website uses a responsive design effectively. Also, if your business is dependent on customers coming to you, there are many good in-app geographically-specific marketing opportunities. This is most frequently referred to as geo-fencing.
There are also very specific types of mobile applications which can have an impact on your business and its effectiveness. Some examples are: Yelp, Open Table (for restaurants), navigation apps (Waze and event Google Maps), and weather apps.
There are some new opportunities of engagement utilizing video in mobile apps. Facebook Live can be effective for certain business’ marketing and video demonstrations that are served on YouTube can create powerful engagement. In fact, video content in general is going to become a more important method for having impact on websites and mobile devices. It's easy to understand why this would be the case, given the fact that it is one of the easiest forms of content to consume. Of course, there are challenges figuring out ways to create video content that is professional looking yet affordable. That's a subject for another day.
In the meantime, while you're reading about all the extraordinary growth in mobile use, don't be seduced into thinking that putting a tiny banner ad at the bottom of the page is going to be effective marketing.
