Why Brands Need To Pay More Attention To Apps

As we become more and more dependant on our mobile devices for communication, research, entertainment, shopping & more, it’s becoming more important for brands to have a deeper understanding about exactly how these devices are being used. Mobile users are most certainly using specified apps more than anything else on their phones or tablets, with most mobile users spending 85% of their time in mobile apps. On average, most people have around 5 apps that they use daily – their top 5 essentials. Though this top 5 varies from person to person, they’re a mix of app types and they may switch back and forth between games and instant messaging, with social media and communication at the top all across the board. A So what does this mean for brands? Before you run to create your own branded app (more on this later) use this information to your advantage. In addition to more traditional forms of online search and display advertising, consider placing your advertising right in the mobile apps that people use the most including games & entertainment, organization or communication & social media apps.

Click through rates of in-app advertising are slightly higher than other types of ads and are a great way to target a very specific demographic. For example, your brand may appeal to a consumer that plays particular types of mobile games; so having your advertisement show up in one of them as either a banner or video will put you front and centre with that exact demographic. These users generally come to expect in-app advertising and are therefore more receptive to it, particularly when it’s catered to their specific interests. Much like native advertising, in-app ads can play off the format of the app itself – blending in as useful content or creating a game within a game that’s actually an advertisement that a user must get through to get through to the next portion of their experience. Not only will it be less aesthetically jarring for the user/viewer, it will encourage them to become more engaged with the advertisement vs. other types of advertising which are much more passive by their very design. Creative attempts at blending in with the platform the advertisement appears on will be more appreciated than many brands realize.

On the other side, there is the world of mobile development. Depending on the type of brand you have, this may or may not be useful to you – so it’s important to make this initial assessment up front before spending time and money that may end up wasted. For brands that sell a range of products especially, having an app creates many opportunities for further growth. Firstly, with as much time as we spend on our devices, we are constantly faced with a variety of icons that eventually become familiar to us. Having your logo, icon or other image front and centre every time someone picks up their phone will increase the chances of them clicking it open, checking for updates, new items or other news and increasing the likelihood of them making a purchase, booking or whichever call to action pushes them towards your end goal. This is also a great way to directly market to those with the app as long as their notifications are turned on (and let’s face it, most people’s are). Sale and discount alerts can be sent directly to a user’s device and they’ll have to check it in the same way they would a text notification. With Google’s latest move to include app content and information in search results, this create even more visibility in that regard.

Whether you choose to advertise in other apps or create on for yourself, it’s going to be even more important in the coming years for brands to align themselves in some way with apps.