With 2016 just around the corner, this is as good a time as any to look ahead to the opportunities that lie ahead for the eCommerce industry. Mobile, as we have known for a number of years, is only increasing its share of online eCommerce traffic. Optimising your site for mobile use is obviously the first step, but once this is done a stringent marketing plan needs to be put in place to bring in those sales. Here are some tips to increase your online sales via mobile in 2016.
Online ads, such as PPC are central to most digital campaigns these days, as they are a great way to gain more exposure to exactly the audience you want. In the case of mobile, you need to take care that you don’t bombard users with ads that they can’t opt out of. Mobile is all about the personal experience. Users don’t want to be inundated with unavoidable ads from outside sources. Put the user in control and allow them to decide whether or not they want to engage with your brand. When you do create your ads, create them with prominent close boxes in clear sight and don’t have them cover an entire passage of text. A better approach is designing them in a way that they disappear when the user scrolls down the page.
One way that mobile ads have lagged behind desk-top and tablet ones in terms of effectiveness, is in their general compatibility with the smaller devices. All that is set to change in 2016, as mobile-friendly ad formats such as the IAB Rising Star adhesion unit, grow more prominent in the consciousness of web developers. Adhesion units on mobile devices only take up about 10% of the screen and are fixed to the bottom of the screen in either landscape or portrait mode. This is much more effective for mobile viewing. You are less likely to irritate potential consumers and in actual fact, may receive much more in the way of interest and clicks.
Mobile ads are only ever going to give you what you want in terms of clicks and conversions, if you go after the right audience. Similarly, it doesn’t matter how good your response rates are, if they come from the wrong sources. In 2016, get in touch with advertising solution providers that can offer you the most robust behavioural data, to help you target the right mobile traffic.
Next year, we are set to see lookalike audiences become much more popular. Lookalikes are audience clusters that marketers look to target. They can be created on various online platforms and they allow you to build user segments to target, based on positive past response rates, you have had with similar demographics. The new audience segments are more likely to absorb the brands message and respond to it favourably.
Once you have created beautiful scalable ads that don’t disrupt your target customers browsing time and you have enticed them to click on your ads for more information, you will want to keep them engaged. You want to keep users on your ads, long enough for them to click on your website, so that they begin exploring your products and eventually make a purchase.
A great way to keep users engaged is through video. In 2016, videos will feature on mobile even more frequently than they have in the last twelve months. Research shows that users actually prefer to watch videos on handheld mobile devices, increasing the screen size and scrutinising the content from a much closer proximity. Run your ads on video and your message will be absorbed much clearer. Just remember to place a link to your website at the end that can easily be clicked on, with one simple touch. In terms of content this can be tricky to get right. Content must be unique and embody all your brand’s attributes. Ensure interactivity is central to your video content and engagement will be almost guaranteed. Allowing users to explore your brand further via photo galleries, feature demonstrations and product showcases, will give them a taste for who you are as a brand, what you offer and it will also allow you to get your message across directly and effectively.
Mobile ads, will no doubt be a crucial part of all digital marketing strategies in 2016. The approach is set to become far more sophisticated as eCommerce site owners look to entice customers, with beautiful ads that don’t come across as too intrusive, but keep users engaged as much as possible. Video will play a huge role in this, along with a more innovative approach to designing the ads themselves.
