Digital Advertising:
Digital advertising grew 16 percent last year and totaled $49.5 billion in sales. These new digital advertising trends are making it easier to target specific groups of people when they are actually paying attention. In 2014 more than half of the U.S. internet consumption came from mobile devices. Here are some of the most important trends in digital advertising right now.
Mobile Video Advertising:
Mobile video consumption is rapidly growing and advertisers are taking advantage. It accounts for 30 percent of all videos played online and grew 400 percent between 2012 and 2014. Thanks to improved 4G/LTE coverage and bigger screens it is becoming more enjoyable to view videos on a mobile device. What makes mobile video advertising particularly captivating to audiences is the way they are able to engage with a video as opposed to billboards, magazine pullouts and flyers. When TV commercials begin, people look down at their phones. On the bus or subway people don’t pay attention to the billboards or advertisements passing by because they are looking at their mobile device. But, when people are already looking at their phone nothing is going to distract them, even a video advertisement. It is important for businesses to take advantage of this undivided attention.
Native Advertising:
When websites feature advertisements that mirror the look and style of their own site, it’s called native advertising. People are typically picky about how they spend their time and what content they consume. That’s where native advertising comes in. These types of advertisements are tagged with a disclaimer that says “sponsored content,” “paid post” or “promoted by.” Despite that, they still tend to engage a large number of consumers. Even millennials, who do not like typical “salesy” advertising, tend to read and share native advertisements. It is expected that native advertising will climb from $3.2 billion in 2014 to $8.8 billion in 2018. These ads are less annoying and do not interrupt a user. Usually clever, they tend to be in the form of a long blog post, infographic or video that aims to entertain, inspire and inform without overtly selling anything.
Behavioral Data:
Both mobile video advertising and native advertising will only benefit you if your ads reach the right people. Advances in the collection and analyzing of consumer data can help you more effectively target people digitally. Instead of spending money to reach a large group of people, you can more effectively use behavioral data to target people who fir your specific customer persona. If your campaign targets a very specific type of consumers (e.g. mothers with young kids) behavioral data can mean the difference between a substandard campaign and a successful one. Mobile video advertisements, native advertisements and behavioral data are currently the defining trends in digital advertising. As these current trends show, the best way to reach an audience is constantly changing and developing new habits and preferences. Spend your advertising budget wisely by trying out these three strategies to discover what works best for you.
Sources:
http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/242393
http://www.clickz.com/clickz/column/2411945/3-digital-advertising-trends-you-must-pay-attention-to
http://www.adweek.com/news/technology/mobile-ads-skyrocketed-76-2014-making-digital-advertising-50-billion-business-164222
