The Insider's Guide to Social Mobile Advertising

THE INSIDER’S GUIDE TO SOCIAL MOBILE ADVERTISING CONTENTS

03 Introduction EXPERT CONTRIBUTIONS BY David Berkowitz 04 Executive Summary Brian Carter 05 Part 1: Joel Comm The Growth of Mobile Advertising David J. Deal 07 Part 2: Jason Falls The Role Social Media Plays Bryan Kramer 09 Part 3: Jason Miller Tips for Winning at Social Mobile Christopher Penn 13 Conclusion Ted Rubin Dennis Yu 14 Part 4: Insights From 10 Industry Experts

EDITORIAL Simon Mansell, Simon Wardropper Douglas Hwa, Uyen Nguyen

DESIGN Sarah Kang

INTRODUCTION

“It’s the year of mobile.” Are you tired of that phrase yet? We’ve been hearing that it’s the “year of mobile” every year since 2008. But here’s the truth: while the world was arguing over if, when, and how the year of mobile would come, the Age of Mobile happened. Mobile is already taking over the advertising world – your company may just not have noticed yet.

If you’re reading this and you haven’t mastered mobile ads, you’re way behind. And that’s understandable. As an advertising platform, mobile can be complicated and difficult to navigate. There are countless rules and variables to keep in mind.

But there is one fundamental aspect of mobile that any brand can master to catch up and win at mobile advertising. The secret ingredient is social media. In this whitepaper, we’ll explain why and teach you how to use social media to win at mobile advertising.

DON’T HAVE ENOUGH Insights from top experts: TIME TO READ? HERE ARE Jason Falls Elasticity, @JasonFalls THE HIGHLIGHTS The key to better conversions is relevancy— targeting more effectively. So get as granular The mobile advertising industry is growing. as you can.

• There are 300,000,000 more mobile connections Dennis Yu than human beings. BlitzMetrics, @dennisyu • Mobile beats desktop for total searches in numerous Your first foray into mobile ads should be on markets, including the U.S. and Japan. Facebook, in the same way that your first foray into search should be with Google. • U.S. mobile ad spend will be $28.5 billion by the end of 2015; the global market will be $70 billion. David Berkowitz • By the end of 2016, global mobile ad spend will reach MRY, @dberkowitz $100 billion; it’ll be more than half of total digital spend. Don’t treat mobile advertising like advertising. Mobile gets extremely personal for consumers. Consumers now prefer mobile over traditional platforms. Jason Miller • Americans spend more time using mobile than watching TV LinkedIn, @JasonMillerCA (2 hours, 57 minutes vs. 2 hours, 48 minutes). 75% of engagement with Sponsored Updates • Americans spend more time browsing on mobile than they on LinkedIn happens on mobile. do on desktop (60% vs. 40%). Christopher Penn Social networks drive the growth of mobile advertising. Shift Communications, @cspenn Remember 3 key things: What’s your audience? • Two out of the three biggest players in mobile advertising What are your goals? What are your gross and in the U.S. are social networks. net margins? • Facebook alone controls 10% of all digital ad spend. and many more! (skip to page 14 for tips)

01 THE GROWTH OF MOBILE 2014 MOBILE TO DESKTOP USAGE RATIO To understand the importance of Source: Millenial Media mobile advertising, let’s first take a look at why mobile is so dominant today. 60% 40% mobile usage desktop usage

MOBILE CONNECTIONS OUTNUMBER PEOPLE At this very moment, there are 7.5 billion mobile connections. The world population sits at 7.2 billion – meaning there are 300,000,000 more mobile connections than people.

PEOPLE PREFER MOBILE OVER OTHER CHANNELS People are choosing mobile over traditionally dominant MOBILE CONNECTIONS TO platforms. They spend more time browsing on mobile than WORLD POPULATION they do on desktop. They even spend more time with their phones than they do watching television (2 hours, 57 minutes Source: US Census Bureau, GSMA Intelligence vs. 2 hours, 48 minutes).

Think of your own habits: you check your phone first thing in the morning, as you walk to the train, while you wait in traffic, 300,000,000 during your lunch break, etc. It’s always within arm’s reach. more mobile connections than human beings

2016 MOBILE AD SPEND PREDICTIONS

Source: eMarketer

GOOGLE IS MOBILE-IZING It’s not just people making the great shift to mobile. Global mobile ad spend will reach The world of business has also gone in a mobile-friendly direction. Google gave a huge bump to mobile in April 2015, $100 billion by the end of 2016 – when it updated its algorithm to give higher rankings to “mobile-friendly” sites on mobile search results. Google also led by the US, China, and the UK. announced that mobile is actually beating desktop for total searches in numerous markets, including the U.S. and Japan.

COMPANIES ARE POURING $$$ INTO MOBILE In 2011, a ComScore study forecasted that mobile ad spend $40 billion would reach $2.5 billion in the U.S. by 2014. Well, 2014 came and went. How did mobile ad actuals compare to their US expectations? By beating the original prediction by nearly 800%, coming in at $19 billion. $100 billion The mobile advertising expansion shows no signs of slowing down. By the end of this year, mobile spending is expected to reach $28.5 billion in the U.S. and nearly $70 billion worldwide. And by the end of 2016, the global mobile ad market will surpass $100 billion and will be more than 50% $7 billion of total digital ad spend. UK

$22 billion China

02 THE ROLE OF SOCIAL MEDIA

The mobile landscape can be As mobile advertising grows, the influence of social media on it grows in tandem. Two out of the three biggest players in mobile ridiculously complex: there are advertising in the U.S. are social networks. Facebook alone numerous networks, devices, controls 10% of all US digital ad spending. agencies, DSPs (demand side Just as social networks drive mobile advertising’s growth, mobile drives advertising on social networks. Facebook, platforms), and other factors to take which controls 71% of all social ad spend, made $3.32 billion into consideration. But if there is in Q1 2015. Almost three-quarters of that revenue came from mobile advertising. one fundamental thing you should know about the mobile advertising landscape, it’s this: social media is 2015 US MOBILE AD REVENUE SHARE the key to success. Source: eMarketer

35.2% Google 16.7% Facebook 3.7% Twitter

Twitter, the third largest player in mobile advertising, announced Brands also benefit from the tracking available via social media a Q1 2015 ad revenue of $388 million – a 72% jump from last networks, where users’ activities can be measured and targeted year. Even more noteworthy: mobile ads accounted for 89% of once they “log in.” total ad revenue. The non-disruptive nature of social media ads is an important This symbiotic relationship between social and mobile creates benefit for brands, as well. Social networks have taken great unique opportunities for brands, as they benefit from the strides to make sure ads are seamlessly integrated into the behaviors of mobile users: overall experience. And nowhere is this seamless relevance more important than on mobile, where the intimacy of the 1. Users are more social on mobile: 71% of time spent on interaction amplifies the reaction, for better or worse. social networks happens on mobile devices.

2. They consume more content on mobile: 75% of consumers +111.3% use a smartphone to watch online videos. LinkedIn 3. They engage more on mobile: online video viewers are almost 3X more likely to click through to a brand’s +87.7% website from their smartphone or tablet than from a Yelp laptop or desktop. +76.4% Yahoo* +55.4% Twitter +43% Facebook

2015 US MOBILE AD REVENUE GROWTH RATE Source: eMarketer

*acquired Tumblr in 2013

03 HOW TO WIN AT SOCIAL MOBILE ADVERTISING

Figuring out what works best for TIPS FOR BRANDING-FOCUSED ADVERTISERS: your company on mobile will require Are you trying to establish a brand identity, attract new customers, or generate interest for a new product? becoming more familiar with the Go to page 10 to learn tips for branding-focused objectives. space (and a fair amount of trial and error). With that said, there are TIPS FOR DIRECT-RESPONSE ADVERTISERS: some general practices your brand Are you trying to get someone to download an app or purchase a product? Check out the tips specific to your goals on page 12. can follow. TIPS FOR MOBILE AD CREATIVE: Hop to page 14 to learn general best practices for creating the right messages and visuals for your social mobile ads.

IF YOUR OBJECTIVES ARE FOCUSED If you have multiple key metrics, consider weighting them ON BRANDING based on your business priorities. You can even experiment with different weightings, adjusting to suit your brand’s needs. With the right metrics selected – and a weighting system to help HAVE CLEAR OBJECTIVES analyze them – you have specific, clear direction to test and What are you trying to achieve? Of course you (and your senior optimize your campaign. management) have a burning desire to buy fans, create buzz, or get more reach. But before gunning for those big numbers, GET CREATIVE WITH YOUR TARGETING it’s important to know what your objectives are. Are you trying to establish a brand identity, attract new customers, or Social and mobile provide intimate details about your audience generate interest for a new product? Each objective will have a and their behaviors. Use this rich data to inform your targeting. completely different execution strategy, as well as its own set of When focusing on branding, pay close attention to the mental relevant success metrics. mode someone is in when they’re exposed to your ad. For example:

CHOOSE THE RIGHT METRICS • Are they relaxed? Perhaps you can target them with Many brands rely on engagement as the main determinant of something long-form, since they’ll be more likely to browse success. Engagement is important, but a simple “like” isn’t the and consume branded content. only (or best) way to measure your performance with social • Did they just have a major life event? If you’re a jewelry mobile advertising. When choosing your campaign’s success brand, maybe now’s a good time to get in front of someone metrics, start with the objective. The rest will follow. Here are who just had a one-year anniversary. a couple examples: • Are they close to making a decision? Look at those recently • If your goal is awareness, you should probably be looking browsing on your mobile site. Are they literally close to you? closely at shares. This is good indication of how well your If you’re a clothing retailer, look at people near your store. branded message is traveling. • If your goal is to increase consideration, maybe you should prioritize sentiment – as measured by positivity of comments – which will give you a clearer idea of how the product resonated with your audience.

BE AWARE OF ALL AUDIENCE FEEDBACK, 5 TIPS FOR AND ADJUST ACCORDINGLY A common problem brands encounter has to do with promoted BRANDING-FOCUSED posts going “dark.” You may not know that while your promoted ADVERTISERS posts get shares, likes, and comments, they don’t fall under “organic activity” – which means your community management or customer care team won’t see these messages on their 1. HAVE CLEAR OBJECTIVES monitoring dashboards. As a result, these “dark” posts continue Before gunning for those big numbers, receiving engagement that you’re not aware of – the good, the it’s important to know what your bad, and the ugly. At best, you’ll come off as uncaring to those objectives are. you just paid to impress. At worst, your brand’s reputation could be put at risk. 2. CHOOSE THE RIGHT METRICS A simple “like” isn’t the only (or best) way Best practice is to continuously monitor the comments on your to measure your performance with social paid content, and continuously change your creative mobile advertising. and targeting based on feedback from the community.

KEEP YOUR SCREENS CONSISTENT 3. GET CREATIVE WITH TARGETING Social and mobile provide intimate Brands already running a TV ad around a product launch or details about your audience and their specific event will often consider adding a mobile component behaviors; use this rich data to inform to get more miles out of their investment. If you choose to do your targeting. so, make sure messaging and creative across these screens are consistent (while being channel-specific), so that the TV ad can provide context for the mobile component, and vice versa. 4. BE AWARE OF ALL FEEDBACK This way, as people move from one screen to another, they’ll Continuously monitor the comments continue to be exposed to your campaign. on your paid content.

5. KEEP SCREENS CONSISTENT If you choose to use mobile as a “second screen,” make sure messaging and creative is consistent.

IF YOUR OBJECTIVES ARE FOCUSED ON When setting up your targeting, go beyond obvious DIRECT RESPONSE demographics like location, age range, income, and education level. You also want to consider the psychographic targeting MAKE SURE YOUR TRACKING IS IN PLACE available on social media networks, such as interests, beliefs, values, and behaviors. For example, if you’re trying to sell a If you’re not effectively tracking, you can’t prove the value stand mixer, you might get a huge audience if you target of your ads. So before doing anything, get your tracking in 18- to 35-year-old female Facebook users living in the U.S. place. Thankfully, social networks are continuously building But your ads will be much more relevant and effective if you sophisticated tracking mechanisms into their platforms. incorporate psychographic filters into the mix. Maybe you Facebook user IDs, for example, can track specific individuals should target 18- to 35-year-old females living near your store as they switch between laptops and phones – this is something locations, who are really into food and cooking, and just bought even cookies can’t pull off. a new home. The result will be a smaller pool of people, but they’ll be the ones more likely to buy your product. If you’re running ads on one social network, tracking will be relatively simple; you’re only dealing with one tracking system. Of course, keep in mind that you shouldn’t get too granular with your targeting. You’ll always have to strike the balance between If you’re running mobile ads on multiple social networks, reaching the right people, and as many people as possible. however, attribution might become an issue. Imagine that someone hops between different social apps before they Once you figure out your target audience, you can then use click on one of your ads... which network gets credit for the creative and messaging that resonate best with them. conversion? Technically, they all played a part. This is where using a third-party tracking partner comes in handy; they ALWAYS BE TESTING can provide unified and accurate reporting across all your paid initiatives. Testing is key to optimization. It’s one of the best ways to figure out which channels, targeting options, and messages work best KNOW WHO YOU’RE TARGETING for your brand. Consider testing factors like: There are 2 billion active social media accounts today. Most of • How much copy should your creative include? these people will not be of interest to your brand. It’s crucial to • Should you even have text on your creative, or should you really nail down the audience you’re trying to reach with your rely on social messaging (i.e., the copy on the post) for your social mobile ads, so that you’re not wasting your time copy, and keep the creative as purely visual? (and theirs).

• What’s the optimal color combination for your images? 4 TIPS FOR • What audience interest groups should you target? Consider trying some out-of-the-box groups in case there are DIRECT-RESPONSE audiences you haven’t taken into consideration. ADVERTISERS • What channel has the lowest CPC (cost per conversion)? • What channel has the highest quality of conversions? 1. GET YOUR TRACKING IN PLACE If you’re not effectively tracking, you can’t Because social media advertising allows for so many different prove the value of your ads. options in terms of targeting and creative, you’d be remiss not to take advantage. Reserve at least 10% of your budget for testing. 2. KNOW WHO YOU’RE TARGETING Consider psychographic targeting HAVE A CLEAR CTA options available on social networks, such as interests, beliefs, values, Seems pretty obvious, but some advertisers overlook this and behaviors. element. You must be sure your audience understands what you really want them to do. Do you want them to visit your site? Go to your app? Enter a contest? Should they tap, swipe, watch, 3. ALWAYS BE TESTING share, or save? Reserve at least 10% of your budget for testing. Whatever the next action from your ad is, make it crystal clear in both messaging and creative. 4. HAVE A CLEAR CTA There’s a lot of content vying for people’s attention each time You must be sure your audience they pick up their phones, so you’ll only have a few seconds to understands what you really want grab their attention and compel them to take a second action. them to do next. Don’t waste that opportunity by muddling the message.

BEST PRACTICES FOR MOBILE AD CREATIVE STRIKE THE RIGHT TONE People have come to expect ads on TV. When they hear a DON’T RECYCLE highly promotional voice-over on a commercial, they’re not We really can’t stress this enough: don’t be lazy with your caught off guard. On social and mobile, it’s an entirely different creative. You’re working with drastically smaller screens, so you game. Since these environments are super personal and can’t simply repurpose the creative from your other initiatives intimate by nature, you can’t be overly promotional or jargony in (e.g., TV or banner ads). Make sure the creative for a mobile ad your social mobile ads. is created with mobile in mind. You have a lot of contextual information about your audience members from their social profiles – use this to inform your TAKE DIFFERENT PLATFORMS INTO CONSIDERATION. creative so that the ad doesn’t disrupt the user experience From smartphones to tablets, and from Apple to Samsung and many more, your ads will live on very different devices. Certain creative techniques will work better on one device than another – for instance, we’ve found that white backgrounds work well on iOS devices, but aren’t great on Android. Also, don’t forget CONCLUSION the obvious stuff, like making sure your creative is congruent with the device and audience – don’t show an iPhone if you’re As the world of business continues to become mobile-friendly targeting Galaxy users, and don’t ask people to enter a contest – it’s more essential than ever to nail down the basics of mobile by texting in a code if you’re targeting tablets. advertising (i.e., the social networks). We hope the past few chapters have provided you with the foundation you need to get started. REMEMBER THAT SIZE DOES MATTER Don’t forget about the size of the content. Videos usually To further help you, we’ve also rounded up 10 leading industry perform well (in terms of higher quality engagements and experts and asked them to weigh in on the topic. Turn the page conversions) but they might take longer to download or view if to learn their top tricks and tips. the device doesn’t have 3G or higher. This could ruin the entire experience of your mobile ad.

INSIGHTS FROM 10 Brian David J. INDUSTRY EXPERTS Carter Deal

A few tips for mobile advertising greatness from our roundtable of industry experts, influencers, Bryan Jason Jason and brand leaders. Kramer Falls Miller

Dennis Christopher Joel Yu Penn Comm

Ted David Rubin Berkowitz

“Combine mobile social “Think of mobile as a behavior, advertising with mobile search not just a platform for ads.” advertising.” Think of mobile as a behavior, not just When we advertise with AdWords or a platform for ads. Create content that Facebook ads, we always include the most effectively connects your brand David J. Deal Brian Carter mobile options, unless the mobile with the mobile behaviors of your @briancarter website experience isn’t up to par. If audience. @davidjdeal Best-selling you have a responsive site and people Speaker and author of The Like convert well on the site, then mobile For example, Starwood Hotels has built consultant in Economy, LinkedIn ads are recommended. Interestingly, we its brand by being useful to consumers branding and for Business, have found that Facebook ads are very who rely on their mobile devices to content marketing, Facebook effective for both B2B and B2C, and are manage their travel needs. Starwood specifically in Marketing, and often the most affordable option for offers branded smartphone and Apple digital and mobile. The Cowbell quality leads. You can target who people Watch apps that help travelers do Principle. are via job title, industry, company, and everything from checking in to their other criteria. hotels to unlocking the doors to their rooms. We recommend combining mobile social advertising with mobile search advertising Taking a different approach, Pep Boys has to get prospects before people look, generated revenue by creating mobile and when they are looking. If you reach wallet offers for consumers searching a prospect earlier, you can get into the and shopping on the go. Both Starwood consideration set and possibly even get Hotels and Pep Boys understand how a deal before the prospect looks too to adapt their brands to mobile lifestyles deeply at your competitors. instead of looking at mobile as another ad distribution channel.

“Make sure you invest the time to “Get as granular as you can.” put a social strategy around your mobile campaign.” The key to better conversions is relevancy. Leveraging IP targeting along Networks such as Twitter and Instagram with mobile advertising means that you Bryan Kramer were born on mobile, so your advertising can dial-in a specific neighborhood, Jason Falls bryankramer must include a social element. Make office building, or even single dwelling. @ @JasonFalls CEO of sure you invest the time to put a social Targeting more effectively creates a strategy around your mobile campaign much higher chance the ad will work. SVP of digital PureMatter, social strategy at strategist, TED and integrate it at each appropriate touch So get as granular as you can. point. A few ideas might be: Elasticity, digital speaker, and strategist, author, author. • Making your website tabs accessible and speaker. on Facebook. • Use geographic-based apps to connect with local customers. • Develop a blog that’s mobile-friendly. “Use bigger text and • Go with social networks that like concise messaging.” video and image content, which is 75% of Sponsored Updates engagement easily uploaded by mobile users. happens on mobile, so make sure your A mobile campaign doesn’t just have to landing page is responsive and looks be advertising, though. It can engage and good on smaller screens. Use bigger Jason Miller create a community of people that want text and concise messaging on your @JasonMillerCA to share, which gives you enough legs to finger-friendly forms. LinkedIn Autofill Author, keynote potentially go viral. can also help boost conversion rates speaker, and on mobile devices. senior manager of global content marketing at LinkedIn Marketing Solutions.

“Use your performance on “What gross and net margins do Facebook as a benchmark.” you have on your ads?”

Your first foray into mobile ads should There are three things that are by far the be on Facebook, in the same way that most important: your first foray into search should be with Google. You’re doing this not because 1. What audience are you trying to Facebook has more mobile inventory, reach? This includes the types of Christopher Penn but because optimization is easier. devices, the bandwidth available, Dennis Yu and the applications. @cspenn @dennisyu Over 70% of Facebook’s ads are already VP of marketing 2. What goals are you trying to achieve? Co-founder mobile placements and they automatically technologies This can include brand awareness, and CTO of resize your creatives based on the user’s at SHIFT audience growth, or calls to action BlitzMetrics. device type – even accounting if they’re Communications, on 3G or 4G. If your goal is engagement, for things like lead generation. keynote speaker, and expect a cost per engagement of under 3. What gross and net margins do you best-selling author, 15 cents for CPG and about a dollar in have on your ads? It is very easy most recently of “non-sexy” industries. Cost per installs for both agencies and brands to Marketing Blue Belt. should be under $3, cost per video view get burned when what looks like under 20 cents, and cost per website click positive revenue ultimately turns out under 50 cents. Use your performance to be a net loss because the cost of (cost by business objective) on Facebook acquisition was too high. as a benchmark before you head into Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram, iAds, and even third party networks. “Hire an ad professional.” By testing with Facebook first, you know what creatives work against which targets. Facebook ads are still one of the best They have a world-class targeting system ways to target your customers on and allow bidding by business objective, mobile. Just make sure you hire an ad professional to do your buys or you can unlike other mobile publishers or DSPs Joel Comm (demand side platforms). Same applies to blow through a lot of cash quickly! Facebook’s retargeting, especially natively @joelcomm via WCA (website custom audiences) New York Times and email audiences rather than using best-selling author third-party retargeting platforms. of Twitter Power 3.0.

“It is time to re-build our one-on- “Focus on the value one communication skills.” exchange first.”

Advertising is advertising. My advice is Don’t treat mobile advertising like to build a mobile community – engage, advertising. Mobile gets extremely interact, add value, and show support personal for consumers. This is a device for what is important to your consumers. that’s always within arm’s reach, and In today’s digital world it’s all too easy sometimes it’s even physically strapped David Berkowitz Ted Rubin for us, both as brands and individuals, to their arms. Think about the value you @TedRubin to let our relationship-building muscles can provide. @dberkowitz Social marketing atrophy. We get caught up in a multi- CMO at MRY strategist, keynote tasking whirlwind of emails, social Can you make sure they know about a speaker, brand updates, ads, and messaging and it’s easy time-sensitive offer available nearby that’s evangelist, to let a connection or a conversation targeted to their interests or preferences? and author. fall through the cracks. We’re super- Can you give them a few minutes of connected, yet somehow disconnected entertainment while they’re in transit or at the same time. This puts us at risk of waiting in line? Can you make it easier for losing the very relationships that help us people to get around, find nearby points prosper as companies and people. of interest, or connect with others? Can you reward them for achieving It is time to re-build our one-on-one milestones, however meaningful (e.g. communication skills and the muscles walking 10,000 steps in a day) or frivolous that we’ve forgotten in our rush to new (beating the boss in a game)? technologies. These skills scale via mobile and social because most people Mobile can do all of this, while helping participate vicariously via the few who you achieve your goals of building your interact publicly and share when they are brand, generating foot traffic, racking up engaged. In order to get buy-in from the leads, or moving products. Focus on the C-suite, be sure to bring awareness to value exchange first, and then see which the fact that while a Network gives you advertising and marketing offerings can Reach, a Community gives you Power. help you achieve it. That power solidifies Trust and Loyalty, which leads directly to ROI for any Ultimately, think about the golden rule person or organization. and respect your target audience in the way you hope others will respect you.

about sprinklr NEW YORK CITY (HQ) Sprinklr is the most complete enterprise social technology in the world, purpose-built 29 WEST 35TH STREET, 8TH FLOOR for global brands to drive business outcomes and manage customer experiences NEW YORK, NY 10001 USA across all touch points. Called “the most powerful technology in the market” by (917) 933-7800 Forrester Research, Sprinklr’s fully integrated social media management software powers more than four billion social connections across 77 countries. Headquartered in New York City with more than 900 employees globally, Sprinklr is revolutionizing customer engagement for more than 1000 top enterprise brands, including IHG, Intel, Microsoft, Samsung, and Virgin America, and partners like Deloitte, Accenture, R/GA, Golin, and AKQA. For more information, visit sprinklr.com or tweet us @sprinklr.

THE SPRINKLR EXPERIENCE PROMISE: HOW DID THIS WHITEPAPER MAKE YOU FEEL? TELL OUR CXO, [email protected].