3 Reasons to Stop Ignoring Facebook Mobile (and How to Get Cranking)
Published: May 19, 2014
Author: Tom Lambert
We’ve passed the “tipping point” for mobile. The adoption of mobile devices for everything online, from checking email to shopping, has compounded several times over the last 2 years and can’t be ignored anymore.
If you aren’t taking advantage of mobile traffic on Facebook at this point, you’re missing out BIG time. As of January 29th, 2014 there are 945 million monthly active users using Facebook on their phone, with 556 million logging in every single day.
I know you already have a ton of things already on your “to-do” list, but listen – if you ignore mobile any longer you’re seriously going to be throttling the output of your Facebook ads campaigns. I know it’s easier to just hit the “desktop only” targeting option but once you figure out mobile for your business you won’t regret it.
#1 – Almost half of Facebook’s traffic is mobile
If you’re excluding mobile from your Facebook ads campaigns, you’re instantly cutting out 48% of the potential. What does that mean to you? If you’ve had ANY success advertising on Facebook, it would be crazy to ignore the other half of the traffic.
People are starting to get comfortable using their phone in lieu of a desktop or laptop computer. The good news is that almost 20% of the time spent on mobile devices is on Facebook:
#2 – Facebook plans to launch a suite of mobile apps and tools in 2014
With mobile devices now accounting for a very respectable chunk of daily Facebook traffic, the capabilities of mobile are actively being expanded on and refined. The growth of mobile has spurred the development of several new Facebook products for mobile devices that are both exciting and full of possibilities for marketers in just about every industry.
Facebook Paper is the newest addition to Facebook’s mobile arsenal. If you haven’t had the chance to check out Facebook Paper, I highly recommend installing it to get a better idea of where Facebook is heading with mobile. There’s some talk that Facebook Paper might take over the “traditional” mobile app, so keep an eye out for future content on optimizing for Facebook Paper. 😉
Facebook is also working on new advancements that will allow users to do more than ever with the mobile app. Soon you’ll have a new spectrum of features to incorporate into your mobile marketing strategy like booking reservations at your favorite restaurant and finding information about upcoming episodes of the TV shows you watch.
#3 – Your competitors aren’t paying attention to mobile either
I know you’re probably extremely busy and creating a new mobile site likely isn’t at the top of your priority list right now. The thing you have to keep in mind is that your competitors are probably “ignoring” mobile too.
Now is the time to create or improve your mobile experience so you can distance yourself even further from your competitors.
It really doesn’t get much better than laser targeted $0.06 clicks, does it?
Mobile advertising on Facebook is going to be one of those “I wish I would have…” opportunities in a few years, get in while it’s still fresh and unsaturated.
If you can create a fluid experience for your mobile customers there’s a massive opportunity to scale your best campaigns and double the effectiveness of your Facebook ads.
Next Steps For You
1. Figure out which mobile OS is most popular on your website using your analytics tool of choice. (we use Google Analytics)
2. Create a mobile experience designed specifically for the most popular mobile OS in step #1. This doesn’t mean simply making your layout responsive, either. Make sure that your website and funnel are well optimized for mobile phones. If you have a form with 5 steps and 20 required fields, you’re probably going to have a lot of drop off.
3. When testing your new mobile site don’t use a mobile OS simulator. It’s critically important that you go through your funnel on the device you’re building it for. You need to know how the experience actually “feels” to do it justice. Key considerations: people are even less patient on mobile devices and hate navigating or typing with their thumbs.
4. Create new Facebook ad campaigns directed to your new mobile site. Make sure you have proper funnels set up in your analytics package so you can find the sticking points and make any necessary adjustments.
5. Once your new mobile site is built, optimized, and ready to go, return to step #1. Find the second most popular mobile OS, rinse and repeat!
