Beyond being faster, cheaper and infinitely more adaptable than print advertising, digital advertising allows you to target the right audience and track your ad’s success rather than guess at it.
We live in the age of Facebook sidebar ads that know you better than you know yourself, so there’s no need to argue the benefits here. But the average business owner doesn’t realize how incredibly easy it is to generate new revenue when you mobilize your own business. And we’re not just talking mobile-friendly sites.
Here a few stats:
- In January 2014, mobile internet usage surpassed that of the PC for the first time in history.
- 21% of Millenials have ditched the computer and devoted themselves to their smartphones for online access.
- Mobile apps account for89% of time spent on mobile media, while only 11% is through the mobile web.
- This year, the costs spent on mobile marketing are rivaling that of desktop advertising, and by 2019, 72% of digital ad spending will go toward mobile.
In short: it’s all about mobile advertising, and mobile is all about apps. When you have an app for your business AND you’re using it to generate ad revenue, you’re killing two very profitable birds with one stone. But for most of our clients–that don’t have a marketing degree or the time to build out an extensive campaign–where do you start?
1. Custom Ads
Selling in-app ad space comes with minimal overhead and maximum profits. When done right, you’re even likely to cover the costs of the app itself. Businesses are already scrambling to get their names in apps, so much so that eMarketer predicts $28.72 billion going toward mobile ad spending this year alone. Even as a first-timer to the ad game, you can take a share of the billion-dollar pie by reaching out to local businesses and offering more ad space for lower rates.
What the big fish in mobile can offer in exposure, you can counter in quality. Remember, small has its advantages, like not drowning an ad out among 20 competitors.
Put a logo on your app’s home screen or add a sponsors page that links out to their front-end sites. When they supply you with the images, launching the ads are simple, and you’ll attract more advertisers once you’ve taken the leap.
2. Automated Ads
If you’d rather make some extra cash without the legwork of selling, mobile ad giants like AdMob, Doubleclick, and iAds allow you to integrate automated ads into your app. You get a kickback from clickthroughs, and all you do is set up the integration. It’s a simple way to pad your wallet without worrying about selling.
3. Self-Promotion
If you’ve created multiple apps, promote them within each other rather than paying someone else to do it. A banner ad for a related app will guarantee more traffic, plus you’ll have full control. Just link your banner to the app store listing so users can click through to download.
If you just have one app for your own business, promote it with your existing clients and reward word-of-mouth efforts like social media sharing. The more downloads you get, the more you can bank on the traditional ROI features in your app to do their part. Boost up the exclusive in-app deals and accept payments for products and services. These are the features that keep people around, but they need to get there first.
