Mobile web traffic continues to skyrocket as consumers spend more and more time on their smartphones and tablets. Approximately half of worldwide web traffic comes from mobile devices, so it makes sense that brands would want to focus on mobile-optimized ad campaigns.
But success in mobile advertising is about more than creating visuals and video content that fits on a mobile screen. It’s important to follow the right practices and create an enticing experience for viewers and potential customers.
Below, 14 members of the Young Entrepreneur Council shared some simple changes entrepreneurs can make to their mobile ad strategy to improve their results.
1. Convey Your Message Without Sound
Plan on people watching videos with the sound off. If you’re shooting promo videos that only work with the sound on, you should work with an illustrator or add large, condensed slides or find other ways to show your message instead of telling it to people. —Tyler Bray, TK Trailer Parts
2. Make It Easy to Take Action
Mobile marketing is all about ease of access. Including marketing options that give users the ability to click-to-call, instantly subscribe or download a lead magnet to their phone will get you better results. Think about the next action you would like a user to take after finding your advertisement, and include a quick and effective way to get it done all on one page. —John Turner, SeedProd LLC
3. Optimize Ads for Voice Search
You need to craft your messaging, keywords and spends for voice searches. More people are searching using voice activation and, if you are not optimized for this, you miss a critical share of the market. —Matthew Capala, Alphametic
4. Share All Website Content on Mobile Platforms
Always be sure that everything you share through your website is also optimized for mobile. So many companies miss this step, creating things on their site for desktop that don’t convert well for mobile. Always be sure mobile advertisements are optimized so that they can be effective. —Diego Orjuela, Cables & Sensors
5. Retarget Mobile Ads
Consider retargeting mobile ads to get in touch with clients who have already seen your brand. Retargeting your ads to different platforms where your customers haven’t seen your brand could establish more recognition, as opposed to only focusing on one platform. —Solomon Thimothy, OneIMS
6. Personalize Your Call to Action
Calls to action need to be targeted. If you’re targeting a person who is currently near one of your retail locations, an ad displaying a sale with directions to that store is more effective than a generic call to action. Alternatively, if you see that someone is in their home browsing their phone, you could send advertising with product information and a discount for an online purchase. —Andrew Schrage, Money Crashers Personal Finance
7. Focus on Improved Ad Design
Many entrepreneurs design their ads in an invasive manner that takes over the entire screen of the host website or app. This can annoy the users, as it is intrusive and gets in the way of whatever the user is doing. By focusing on improved ad designs, entrepreneurs can instantly create goodwill for their brand and attract more engagement as well. —Thomas Griffin, OptinMonster
8. Include Your Location
When creating anything for mobile, it’s important to include location. Advertising on mobile gives you the opportunity to access local customers who may want to invest in brands close to home. When someone searches for something on their phone, they’re most likely looking for a local option, so including this information in your ads is extremely beneficial. —Jared Atchison, WPForms
9. Create More Video Content
Entrepreneurs need to reduce the number of text posts that they create for mobile ads. It’s been proven time and again that video is the most engaging content, especially on mobile. So, focus on creating more video advertisements to stand out online. —Syed Balkhi, WPBeginner
10. Tap Into Influencer Marketing
If you’ve noticed the trends in mobile usage, it’s obvious that mobile devices are the new television, and televisions are the old radios. Interruptive and irrelevant ads have become outdated, but many advertisers still use them despite their low returns. The evolving strategy is to advertise on more relevant and effective platforms like influencers’ social media posts. —Kelly Richardson, Infobrandz
11. Keep It Snappy
Mobile users don’t have the luxury of a wide PC screen to display long titles. Make your title shorter, concise and clickbaity, but make the content informative, graphical, engaging and fun for everyone. All buttons should be working and easy to find. Don’t complicate things by making things hard to see. —Daisy Jing, Banish
12. Aim to Drive Calls
When advertising on a mobile platform, you should be aiming to drive calls. Your customer has a phone in their hand. People are inherently lazy, so get them on the phone with one of your team members who can help them through the process of buying your product and answer any questions they have. —Alastair Sanderson, LFA Machines DFW LLC
13. Streamline Your User Interface
When running an ad campaign on mobile, entrepreneurs should look to optimize the interface for the users. User experience is incredibly important for success. You could have the best product or service in the world but no one will buy from you if your checkout experience is poor. You can identify areas of improvement by running through the checkout process as if you were a prospective client. —Ibrahim Alkurd, New Mine
14. Create a Positive User Experience From the Start
Because mobile users have little patience, it’s important to give them a positive user experience from the get-go. When creating an advertising strategy for mobile, make sure your site is up to speed and doesn’t cause lags. Slowness is the easiest way to send visitors away from your site and over to your competitors. —Stephanie Wells, Formidable Forms
