Everything you should know about Mobile Video Advertising

Summary

More than 90% of the world population owns a phone, so it is unthinkable that everything related to marketing and in particular video marketing is not optimized for mobile. We are moving more and more in that direction, that of mobile video advertising.

Mobile video advertising: some data 

We often talked about how important it is to make video marketing campaigns that are optimized for mobile viewing. For this reason, in this post, we’ll talk about how you can bring this to your campaign, and in general, what you need to know about mobile video advertising.  

It’s good to start with some data, both to set the stage for this topic but most importantly, how making video marketing for mobile can be effective for your strategy. We’ve already talked about Mobile Video Advertising trends for 2022.

In 2022, 7.26 billion people in the world own a phone, exactly 91.54% of the world’s population. In comparison, 6.64 billion own a smartphone, complete with its functionality, representing nearly 84% of the population (source: bankmycell.com). It’s a figure that continues to grow, a growth that does not stop. By 2025, it’s estimated that 7.33 billion people will own smartphones. 

In short, the data speaks for itself. That’s why it’s essential to introduce the topic of mobile video advertising. And that’s what we’re going to do in the following paragraphs, starting with a basic question: what is mobile video advertising and why should we invest in it? The data has already given you an idea, but let’s go further. 

What is mobile video advertising? 

Mobile video advertising is a popular monetization strategy. Ads are usually placed within apps and websites to generate ROI as users watch the content.  

An estimated $15.93 billion is spent on mobile video advertising, a number that will rise to $24.81 billion in the next three years (source: emarketer). Furthermore, in 2021, advertisers spent 51% of their marketing budgets on mobile advertising, and this is also a number that is definitely set to grow (source: Digitalexaminer).  

Video is the king of content, the first to be used and the best for increasing audience engagement. Research has shown that mobile video ads get a 7.5 times higher click-through rate than display ads (source: marketingdive.com).  

What exactly does mobile video advertising consist of? It is nothing but the publishing of video ads created specifically for mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets. We’ve also talked about why should you share video on social media. Online video ads can be played before a video is played, after it or on any web page that has an embedded video. In this regard, let’s look at the types of ads that are available for mobile. 

What are the different types of mobile video ads?  

While there are different types of ads that can be used on mobile, it depends on the budget, business needs, and target audience. It is undeniable that video ads are the most interesting and engaging, precisely because they offer the viewer a more dynamic experience, in an even short period of time.

In-stream video ads  

Frequent YouTube users are surely familiar with this type of ad. In-stream ads are played before, during, or after watching an online video. They are generally the most used on both mobile and non-mobile devices.  

The advantage of in-stream video ads is that, unlike PCs, where programs capable of blocking ads are very common, this is not the case with mobile devices.  

Interstitial video ads  

“Interstitial” ads are pop-ups that appear while browsing a site and cover the user’s entire screen. They are often used in various applications to allow viewers to download free content. This kind of ad can take on different formats but video is among the most effective ones. 

But beware! The use of interstitial video ads can be potentially disadvantageous: despite having a very high click-through rate, it is often attributable to accidental clicks, due to their sudden appearance on the screen. Therefore, it’s a good idea to use them sparingly and invest your budget in a balanced way.   

In-app video ads 

In-app video ads originate from social media and are known as “sponsored videos”. They appear while the user is scrolling through his feed and are usually characterized by the presence of the brand logo or visual elements used to attract the user’s attention and thus entice him to pause and click.  

These aren’t normally as effective as in-stream ads, but they’re certainly more effective than interstitials. Why? They blend well with context, don’t interrupt the user experience, and can’t be blocked.  

When you consider that more than half of the population uses social media, these types of ads could be a great way to reach your target audience and increase awareness of your brand. 

Gamified video-ads 

This is a particular type of ad created specifically for mobile devices. It looks like an interactive ad, where the user is invited to play mini-games or otherwise interact with them.  

This is an effective and fun way to engage consumers. In fact, these ads tend to have high conversion rates, especially when used to advertise educational apps.

The benefits of mobile video advertising 

We’ve already mentioned some of the pros of mobile ads, but now we’re going to go into more detail about the benefits of this type of strategy and why it’s effective.  

They increase engagement 

Mobile ads are interactive and engaging. Of course, as we’ve always said, video in and of itself tends to increase viewer engagement. But mobile technology allows advertisers to introduce interactive features that we don’t find on a PC.  

It’s easy to get to the bottom 

On a mobile device, you’re much more likely to see an ad in its entirety than on a PC. Basically, mobile-focused video ads tend to be shorter, making it much easier to get to the end.  

Geo-location 

Another advantage represented by mobile is that it lends itself well to the use of geolocation and various tags of users in different locations. In this way, it’s much easier to target your videos based on the current location of a certain user and consequently receive accurate information about their habits.  

In short, it goes without saying that mobile video advertising is convenient and brings numerous benefits.  

Now that we’ve shown the benefits, we want to give you some tips to make the most of it.  

Tips for a good mobile video advertising  

If you are starting from scratch or you realize that your strategy isn’t working, here are some tips that may come in handy:  

• Choose the right platform: it’s important to understand where your target audience usually moves and decide, accordingly, on which platform to position yourself.  
• Tell your story with stories: stories are a very popular format. You can now find them on all social media. These temporary posts allow you to add small segments to a larger collection and create in-depth stories and narratives through very short clips. 
• Grab attention quickly: when creating a mobile ad, focus on the very first few seconds; it seems that video ads that show text in the first 3 seconds have a 46% increase in purchases compared to those without (source: businessapps). 
• Make it work without sound: research from Verizon Media showed that 92% of consumers watch video without sound. So make sure your ad works even without audio. One idea might be to use subtitles.  
• Video quality: we’ve said this often and we’ll say it again: it’s absolutely essential that your videos are of high quality. Also, take care to pay attention to detail.  
• Give yourself a goal: your ad needs to be direct and the viewer needs to understand what the goal is right away, so don’t put too many ideas in one video; limit yourself to telling one story.
• Take advantage of verticality: embrace the vertical format. Although we instinctively tend to shoot videos horizontally, most mobile users prefer a vertical orientation. Keeping your videos vertical means less work for users and a greater chance that they’ll watch them all the way through. 
• Maintain brand identity: be sure to include elements of your logo, font, and taglines. These aspects, which may seem minimal, show consistency in the eyes of the viewer and makes your video more recognizable.  

Conclusions

It’s clear that mobile video advertising is a powerful way to market your brand and help your reach.  

But what can you expect in the future? Because of the speed at which mobile devices are increasing – and we described this at the beginning – it’s very likely that we’re talking about something that will continue to grow and develop. 

With this method you have the possibility to reach your target audience more easily and effectively, but it will also be easier to approach a younger audience.  

In addition, let’s not forget that with the new 5G technology, mobile internet will become increasingly accessible and this will result in further growth in the mobile ad market. It’s an evolving field and will likely see several changes over time.  

One thing is for sure though: with these tools, now is definitely the right time to enter this world.