2013 Mobile Media: Ripe for the taking

70 percent of mobile searches lead to action within an hour, in comparison to 30 percent from desktop searches. (Mobile Marketer, 2012)

Search queries via mobile devices double during the Christmas selling season. (Google, 2011)

More than 55 percent of smartphone users have a HHI greater than $50,000-plus per year, with nearly a third making more than $75,000-plus per year. (Online Publishers Association, 2012)

In 2012 more than 50 percent of affluent consumers, whose average incomes are approximately $250,000 per year used their mobile device for shopping research, 40 percent used their device to make a purchase. (Unity Marketing, 2013)

61 percent of customers who visit a mobile-unfriendly site are likely to go to a competitor's site. (IAB, 2012)

Adults spend more media time on mobile than newspapers and magazines combined. (eMarketer, December 2011)

It’s very clear mobile advertising is a force to be reckoned with across the advertising landscape and those businesses that master mobile advertising sooner rather than later will not only reap the benefits now, but also will have gained some valuable experience that can be applied to future mobile advertising. No matter how that future manifests itself, a much larger audience of mobile users is unquestionably growing. If the projections are correct and smartphones do overtake PC sales across the globe in the next several years, mobile advertising will overtake Internet advertising via the desktop PC as well.

There are simply too many media opportunities that currently exist for businesses not to target consumers via their mobile devices, whether it’s the local fine jeweler advertising an event/promotion or a national jewelry designer establishing a brand. The technology already exists to target consumers on their mobile device in many of the same ways as general Internet advertising.

Mobile paid search should be the first item of business for companies that want to test the waters. Paid search allows you to target your advertising to consumers who are actively searching for products or services available from your business. Knowing that more than 70 percent of mobile searches result in action within the hour, it’s imperative your sales message be the first one consumers see. Zip Code Targeting is also readily available for anyone who desires to keep their advertisements local or wishes to bolster sales within a prescribed area.

Consider Geotargeting as well, a media strategy that reaches only those consumers within a specified distance of your business. Geotargeting can not only identify those individuals living in close proximity to your store, but those simply driving through. Database marketing is another very viable mobile advertising solution. Target only those consumers who are current customers and/or prospects, and eliminate all others. No more wasting ads and precious media funds on consumers with little or no interest in your message. Finally, one of the strongest performing forms of digital advertising is “retargeting:" reaching out to consumers who have paid a visit to a business’s website via their PC. This opportunity has recently crossed over to mobile and should be tested as part of any 2013 mobile advertising initiative.

As mobile media continues to grow and smartphone technology expands, even more advertising opportunities will begin to take shape. The business that masters mobile advertising now will have a much greater understanding of the mobile consumer and will be better prepared to take on any new mobile opportunities that arise in the future. Those businesses that take a wait-and-see approach -- as they did with the Internet -- will play catch-up. Now that smartphone users have exceeded feature phone users, there are no more excuses as to why mobile advertising should not be a part of your current 2013 media plans.