What is Mobile Marketing?

The high penetration rate of mobile internet in today's world has opened significant opportunities for companies to shift their strategies and capture consumer interest more effectively. The high returns and relatively low cost of buying mobile traffic for digital advertising give marketing executives an efficient alternative to traditional digital tools. According to eMarketer, companies spent over $68 billion on mobile internet advertising worldwide in 2015, with projections surpassing $195 billion by the end of 2019. Mobile internet advertising accounted for 40% of all digital advertising and nearly 12% of total advertising spend — figures expected to grow to over 70% of digital advertising and approximately 27% of total advertising by 2019.

While the global business world is rapidly moving toward digitalization, this shift has been slower in some markets. Digital footprints can be found across various sectors, yet comprehensive and reliable statistics on their scope remain limited. In many regions, a significant portion of corporate advertising still runs through traditional media — radio, television, newspapers, and billboards. In recent years, however, small individual businesses in areas like handicrafts and home retail have emerged using Instagram and Telegram as their primary business and advertising platforms, demonstrating how small business owners can leverage 100% of available digital tools on a minimal budget.

With over a decade of e-commerce growth, online service providers have grown substantially, producing digital advertising and virtual marketing content across a wide range of websites. The rise of social media has made marketing practices even more widespread. Observations consistently show that internet and social media advertising delivers a far higher return on investment compared to radio and television — and at a fraction of the cost of city-wide billboard campaigns.

Advertising through social networks is especially popular among small and new businesses that have limited marketing budgets. As one digital marketing expert noted, if you were to examine the top 100 companies in any given market, the total digital marketing spend of all of them combined would likely be less than what individual small businesses collectively spend. The reason small businesses gravitate toward virtual networks is smart decision-making — with scarce financial resources, they must allocate them as efficiently as possible.

To put this in perspective, consider TV advertising tariffs: many large companies spend billions annually on broadcast advertising. For some well-known brands, the cost of online advertising amounts to roughly one-tenth of what they spend on billboard advertising in a single major city each month.

According to eMarketer, companies spent over $488 billion on advertising across all media in 2014 — rising to $513 billion in 2015 — with projections reaching $674 billion by 2020. As digital development accelerates, competition to attract customers through social networks and the internet has pushed digital advertising's share to 26.8% of total global media spend, expected to hit 30% in 2015 and surpass 39% by 2019.

Another powerful driver of mobile traffic is personalized, targeted content delivered through multiple channels. These include targeted email marketing, messengers, and SMS — each with its own marketing approach and audience. In simple terms, mobile traffic refers to visitors who arrive exclusively from mobile devices, as opposed to desktop or laptop computers. Why does this matter? Because more and more people rely on their smartphones for far more than just social media. Reaching your prospective customers wherever they are through mobile is an increasingly essential part of any comprehensive marketing strategy.

Looking for the best place to get started? Buying targeted mobile traffic is one of the fastest and safest ways to grow your business. All mobile traffic sourced this way comes from iOS and Android devices. When used correctly, these tools can generate highly effective results. However, poor planning can easily cause your messages to be flagged as spam — and once a user blocks you, the opportunity to connect with them is gone permanently.