Using Mobile Devices To Advertise Your Local Business

More than four billion people around the world now use mobile devices every day. Instead of sitting at home and watching movies or playing games on a laptop or desktop, they can now do all the same things with a tablet or smartphone. As a local business owner, you can increase your sales, reach new customers and advertise your company through mobile advertising. Google and Facebook offer mobile ads, but you can also find private companies that will place your ads on its mobile websites and apps. Making mobile advertising work for you begins when you learn more about the process. Mobile Banners and Posters Mobile banners and posters, also known as impressions, are one method of mobile advertising. Mobile banners typically sit on the top of the page, while mobile posters run along the bottom or sides of the page. Banners are usually more expensive because those are the first ads that people see. Purchasing mobile posters can help you save money and still reach new customers. Those who read the entire article or mobile page have more interest in the topic, and those people with a higher level of interest are the ones more likely to click on ads. Views vs. Click Throughs When you decide to purchase ads, you can either pay for ads based on views or click throughs. With page views, you pay the advertiser based on how many impressions you buy. If you purchase 10,000 impressions, your ad will appear on 10,000 views of that page. The problem with buying page views is that the page might have a number of repeat viewers and fewer unique visitors with an interest in your local business. With click throughs, you pay advertisers based on the number of people who actually click the link and visit your page to learn more. Apps as Ads As more people begin using apps that they download to their tablets or smartphones, more companies find it helpful to choose apps over ads. While developing on your own is more expensive than running mobile ads, these apps have a higher return on your investment and function as free advertising. If you run a local restaurant, you might develop an app that lets diners make reservations, and if you own a hardware store, you can develop an app that shows shoppers what supplies they need for specific home improvement projects. If you have limited experience with apps, you can hire someone to develop it for you. Viral Marketing Viral marketing is a positive way to increase sales and get the word out about your local business. This type of marketing relies on word of mouth and asks your customers to tell others about your company. You need a great hook that gets people interested in your business. Coca-Cola increased its sales with a campaign that looked like footage captured by security cameras, while Paranormal Activity gained fans when it made viewers think the footage shown in the film was real. Anything funny or silly can serve as viral marketing, and customers will spread the videos you make with their friends and family. Return on Investment When choosing mobile marketing, you need to look at the return you receive on your initial investment. Google and Facebook let you target specific groups of people, and while this option is more expensive, you'll often find that it has a higher return on your investment. Targeting customers means that you can pick specific groups of people who will see your ads. You might select students attending colleges in your area, parents who live in your city or customers who previously purchased products from you or visited your website. Targeting customers lets you eliminate people in other cities and those who might view your website from another state. You can focus specifically on people who need the goods or services you provide and those living in your city. Mobile marketing is one of the hottest trends in the advertising world. Shoppers now rely primarily on tablets and smartphones when surfing the web, playing games and shopping. Mobile ads let you target people living near your local business and get those customers excited about working with your small business.