by anton | Nov 26, 2014 |
Should you go with desktop or Mobile Advertising? There isn’t a cookie-cutter answer that would be fitting for every single brand out there. We can, however, list a few key differences between the two that could help you to make up your mind. Content Because a mobile screen is much smaller your advertisement (and therefor your copy and images) have to smaller as well. This could result in less “oomph” being present, because you have to settle for less as well. It is much easier to write content for a desktop advertisement – you can list the benefits of your product, produce a call to action and have more “in your face” graphics. Mobile advertisers have to work smarter with their content so they can send the same message in fewer words. It is not impossible, it just takes a little more creativity. Accidental clicking Because a mobile user has to constantly zoom in and out of the mobile screen, this sometimes leads to accidental clicks. If you are paying for every user’s click, it could become a bit annoying, and it could mess up your statistics. But, at the same time, mobile ads generate more clicks than desktop ads – and all clicks can’t be accidental. To counter this problem, marketers need to look at the design and placement of a Mobile Advertisement. It has to make sense and placed in a location that attracts attention. User-friendliness Desktop advertisements are considered more user-friendly. Not only does the user have a large screen that enables him to view everything clearly, but he also has a mouse to help him...
by anton | Nov 26, 2014 |
Did you know that Twitter and email are highly interactive mediums, but so is mobile advertising. With mobile advertising, you can send coupons, targeted text messages, event alerts, special offers and other marketing content to targeted people. Even though it shares similarities than Twitter and email marketing, it’s quite different in execution, deliver, and service. Take note that in this example we are only using one mobile advertising channel which is text/sms advertising. The most notable difference between mobile advertising (text/sms messages) and email and Twitter is all of these mediums uses different content lengths that can be sent. Email content can basically be any length, but if you are targeting mobile users, shorter means better. With Twitter you are restricted to 140 characters so if you want to add a shortened URL in your message, you are restricted to 119 characters – 20 characters for the URL and 1 for a space. Text messages have a 160 character limit, but you can send text/sms messages that are spread across more than 1 message. The second biggest difference is that Twitter and email are sent through an internet service provider whilst an sms is then through a carrier or a wireless service provider. Another difference is that an email message is sent directly to another email address and an sms is sent to a cellphone number. Twitter has always taken the mobile first approach and can be configured so that the messages are delivered via sms, but by default it’s via email. Email has been the longest running medium out of these three and they do differ considerably. Email is a...
by anton | Nov 20, 2014 |
Did you know that old school traditional marketing and advertising is focused on reaching an audience usually through one medium such as radio, print, or TV. To give you an example, the billboards next to the road, magazines, newspapers, direct mail and the yellow pages use only one medium. With mobile advertising in Africa, you can reach your targeted audience through multiple mediums which can increase your reach and footprint in the digital space considerably. What mobile advertising options are available? Some mobile advertising mediums Mobile web: The mobile web allows people to access information on the go and view content directly from their mobile device such as featurephones, smartphones and tablets. A mobile optimised website allows businesses to run specific campaigns such as content marketing or banner campaigns. SMS/Text messages: This mediums allows you to send sms messages to your target audience. Even though you are restricted by only using a number of characters in the sms, it’s actually a very interactive medium where you can be sure that your audience will receive your message. You can send coupons, promotions or any other interactive message through this medium. MMS: With Multimedia Messaging you can send rich text and images on mobile phones. These items can include coupons that can be scanned, animated gifs, short video and audio or other rich text formats to grab the attention of your recipients. Even though these are just a couple of mobile advertising mediums, there are many more which we will explain in great detail within the next few weeks on our blog. There are many other mobile advertising options available but...
by anton | Nov 17, 2014 |
Are you new to Mobile Advertising? We have five practical tips to keep in mind when you are constructing your first campaign. It is easy to overlook the simple things, but you will be surprised how big of an impact the basics can have Not all consumers have the same phones One of the unfortunate symptoms of mobile progression is that there are loads of different phones on the market. Apart from smartphones versus non-smartphones, the screens of mobile devices also differ. This impacts the graphics and display of your advertisement. A format that looks super on one phone might only look okay on another. The solution? Test your ads on different phones before you decide on a format. Does the user need to submit data? Do you want the user to exchange data with you? For example: the filling out and submission of an application form? Does their phone need certain capabilities to do it and to you have a means of receiving it on your end? Keep that in mind when constructing your Mobile Advertising campaign. The user has internet related limitations The way that a mobile user connects to the internet will have an influence on his/ her mobile experience and a direct impact on how far you can take your advertising. If a customer’s internet connection is slow, it will take longer for high quality images to download. Also, mobile users usually have some kind of limit on the amount of cap they use for browsing. Thus, if you are wasting their cap, they will simply move on. The user isn’t connected to a printer...
by anton | Nov 12, 2014 |
Did you know that by 2015 one in two mobile phones will be a smartphone? Feature phones are still prominent in Africa, but with all the low cost smartphones entering the market such as the MTN Steppa, the adoption rate for smartphone usage is rapidly increasing. With this, just imagine what impact this will have on mobile web consumption, search, and marketing in the future. Mobile phone carriers all around the world are busy encouraging users to upgrade to a smartphone for a number of reasons than just pure revenue. Data mining, mobile advertising, and market segmentation to name but a few provides huge value to mobile service carriers to understand their clients better and to provide them with services to fit their needs. Mobile advertising and your brand What does this mean for your business? You should be ready and prepared for the explosion in mobile advertising which can open up your business to a highly engaged mobile market. It’s a fact that more people are accessing the web from their mobile devices than traditional desktop browsers. Why? Because it’s more cost effective and many households – especially in Africa doesn’t have access to the internet other than their mobile device. It’s an always on connected device so it will be foolish not to take advantage of this opportunity while it’s still young and brands are still focused on traditional advertising methods. Online you will already find many big brands taking advantage of various mobile advertising campaigns like KFC, MTN, Vodacom, InTarget and other big players. These brands have mobile optimised responsive websites and applications. They are also busy with...
