Mobile Video Marketing-How Hot Is It?
Posted by Stephanie Shea
So, let's say you’re a busy marketing executive who's smart, savvy, and always working to keep up on the latest trends. You overhear a conversation in the elevator about “mobile video marketing”. Not wanting to get behind the times, you hurry back to your office to start researching. What the heck is mobile video marketing, you wonder, and how hot is it?
First, it’s important to realize how hot mobile phones are. Around 89% of the total U.S. population has at least one. Second, if mobile phones are hot, then Internet-enabled, a.k.a. smartphones, are blazing. From January to March 2010 alone, 314.7 million phones were sold and 54.3 of those were smartphones. It is predicted that by 2013, more people will connect to the Internet via their mobile phone than with their PC.
With all technology there comes a pivotal point when it becomes evident that life as we know it has been forever changed. For the smartphone, that time is now. Not only is it here to stay, it’s evolving into a tiny handheld computer capable of almost anything its larger counterparts can do, and soon most people won’t want to live without them.
What does all this mean to you? One thing is for sure—the mobile market can’t be ignored. To learn the best way to reach this market, it’s best to see what’s been working and what hasn’t. Below are the three types of mobile media:
• SMS Text – Currently, this is the most widely used method of mobile marketing. SMS text is fast: users usually open, read and share these messages within a few minutes of receipt. Joy Liuzzo, Senior Director, Marketing and Mobile Research at InsightExpress, has researched data showing that nearly all age groups sign up for SMS alerts, which indicates consumer willingness to interact with companies via SMS.
• Internet Ads – According to ReelSEO Video Marketing, studies have shown that there’s a greater likelihood that smartphone users will take action after seeing a mobile ad than other types of ads. ReelSEO cites a recent Google study that reported approximately 71% of smartphone users searched for related content after viewing ads online and offline. However, the downside is that due to screen sizes, mobile Internet ads are hard to see and clutter the screen, which reduces their impact.
• Video – this medium is still relatively new, but early studies have shown its' rapid growth. Almost 24 million US mobile users will be watching videos on their devices at least once a month by the end of the year, as estimated by eMarketer. This represents an increase of nearly 30% more than estimated in 2009. Recently, companies have begun to reach their audiences with video that's embedded into an SMS message, making mobile video marketing one of the most versatile methods.
So, knowing a bit more about the mobile marketing landscape, a perceptive marketing executive like you can now draw a few conclusions about mobile video marketing. SMS text is fast and proven and the potential to multiply its’ impact by incorporating video is promising. Companies like MobileBeyond have experienced successful SMS-transferred mobile video campaigns with clients like Reebok, who reached a 50% CTR (click through rate).
Internet ads are also proven, but with mobile screen sizes, video has the visibility advantage. And video is gaining in popularity. It’s projected there will be 5.6 billion smartphones in the world by 2015, and video will comprise 66% of the content transferred between these phones. So, basically mobile video marketing can take the advantages of SMS text and Internet ads to create the best of all worlds with its versatility, visibility and growing popularity.
The mobile audience is more focused on what they watch, because usually they’re viewing during commutes or spare time. As a result, they’re more likely to notice ads and take action, whether it be completing surveys, requesting information, or purchasing products. Incorporating video into your mobile marketing strategy is a smart way to take advantage of technology that has already laid the groundwork for success.
When you think about it that way, mobile video marketing is pretty hot!