With today’s increasingly mobile phone centred existence, mobile phone video advertising is becoming more and more important. However is this shift in focus something that can help you with your advertising needs when promoting your business

Accessibility.

When most people wake up the first thing they do is look at their mobile phones, hence the statistic that adults check their phones at least 50 times a day is not at all surprising. Mobile smart phones have become a daily necessity in modern society. We use them, not only as a traditional form of communication but also to stay connected with social media and current affairs. As a result of this, video advertising has had to adapt and evolve itself onto this emerging media platform.

The smartphone has taken the world by storm. It is estimated that 81% of 18-34 year olds own a smart phone and that mobile video is actually the fastest growing advertising channel, which has in fact grown by a staggering 142% a year.

User-friendly aspect.

When observing these shifting trends in advertising we need to consider why the mobile has so much appeal. It is a matter of convenience; mobiles are easily accessible and tend to be the one device that we always have switched on. They are becoming more advanced with larger and clearer-resolution screens, this encourages people to watch more videos on their mobiles. The days of video buffering are also coming to an end with the increase of widespread Wi-Fi and 4G access. A user can see directly catered for advertising when checking the news, while commuting to work, while on a lunch break, or even while procrastinating at work!

Applications.

The increase in social media apps themselves such as Snapchat and Vine encourage people to record, share and watch videos online. These apps not only create a larger video culture they also provide a perfect environment for advertisers to create short ads that are only 6 or 10 seconds long, which is the optimum viewing time as only 59% of viewers will watch a video to completion that is less than a minute long.

Snapchat in particular have a great platform for advertisements as viewers have to hold the screen to watch the ad, this ensures that the viewers are always engaged. Snapchat have caught onto this idea and have began charging companies to advertise on their app, the first being Universal Pictures for their new film Ouija which reportedly cost $750,000 for a one day advertisement. On the 7^th of May 2015 they also announced their new 10-second ads that will run in between articles and videos on its Discover platform, for each view the brand will be charged 2 cents.

Trends & what we can learn from them.

 There is a clear indication that mobile video use will only keep increasing, with YouTube now reporting that 50% of there views are conducted through mobile, up from 40% in 2013, 25% in 2012 and 6% in 2011. So how can you move to mobile advertising or increase the quality of your existing video advertisements? Not everyone can afford to pay the fees of Snapchat’s new adverts but we can all learn from there success. Snapchat and Vine are so popular because their videos are so short, we have such busy lives and don’t want to waste time watching extended videos. Their content is condensed, interesting and engaging. When we are on our mobile it is often the only activity we are partaking in and therefore we want to be involved in what we are watching. So to increase the popularity of your videos, make them short and engaging, something that you would watch to the end and not be annoyed by the fact your watching yet another advert.

Does mobile video advertising only benefit large businesses?

 Simply put, mobile advertising does not only have to be used by large businesses, it can also be used by smaller businesses too. Mobile advertising leads to instant communications as the messages have been revealed to only take a few seconds to send and be delivered to customers. There is a higher chance of the message actually being opened due to the fact that mobiles are usually always on hand and switched on. It is also relatively cheap in comparison to other forms of advertising. E-mails are free and it costs very little to send an SMS.

We can see that there are many benefits to mobile advertising for a variety of different reasons. Not only is society becoming more reliant on mobiles for advertising but there is also the opportunity for businesses to truly flourish, whether they are big or small.

Sources

1. [1]
2. The Drum. Empty vessels… Making the most noise. V36. I11. P44.
3. http://www.phantom.glass/blog/13-amazing-facts-about-smartphone-use-around-the-world/
4. https://www.thinkwithgoogle.com/articles/youtube-insights-stats-data-trends-vol6.html
5. http://www.adeliestudios.com/top-15-video-marketing-statistics-2015/
6. http://www.adweek.com/news/technology/snapchat-asks-brands-750000-advertise-and-wont-budge-162359
7. http://adage.com/article/digital/snapchat-charge-advertisers-cents-a-view-discover/298514/
8. http://blog.apptopia.com/increase-mobile-spending/
9. http://techcrunch.com/2013/10/17/youtube-goes-mobile/
10. http://smsmarketingportal.com/blog/what-are-the-benefits-of-mobile-advertising-for-small-businesses/