The industry is now wondering if the social networking giant has finally mastered this channel.
Facebook has been the recipient of massive criticisms due to its lack of mobile marketing revenues, which had lead to its exceptionally disappointing initial public offering (IPO) stock nearly a year ago.
At that time, there were hundreds of millions of users accessing the service without ads on smartphones and tablets.
Investors were disappointed that mobile marketing had apparently been ignored by Facebook, when it could have been used to reach these millions upon millions of people, but it was not. What has since been discovered, is that the executives at the social networking giant were perfectly aware of this trend and they were already well on the way to building their strategy.
The Sponsored Stories mobile marketing social ads were only the tip of the iceberg.
That element had only just been introduced at the time of the IPO, but what the investors didn’t know at that time – and what has only recently been revealed – is that Facebook had a great deal more up its sleeves for its mobile marketing programs. It took several months, but it has now been proving itself capable of exposing ads to the smartphone and tablet using masses in compelling and effective ways. This was far beyond what most people at that time could have predicted.
The mobile marketing ads at Facebook were not an instant success, but they did gradually build traction until they were earning $305 million by the fourth quarter. This represented approximately 23 percent of the overall ad sales revenue for the company. It is also one of the main reasons that the social network stock price has nearly doubled the low to which it plummeted shortly after the IPO, hovering near the $30 mark.
One of the main reasons that the ads in the Facebook mobile marketing strategy are considered to be successful is that they aren’t the same as those that are used on the desktop site. On the standard website, the ads run along the right hand side of the page. Instead, the smartphone friendly ads are worked right into the news feed and have both a look and a feel that are comparable to the posts that are made by their friends and the other brands and pages that they have liked.
Mobill teams with Sterna Security to promote mobile payments services in India
Swedish mobile commerce firm Mobill has announced that it will be establishing a new development center in India. The company has teamed with Sterna Security, a mobile security solutions firm based in India, to develop a new mobile payments system for the Indian market. India is quickly becoming a very attractive market in terms of mobile payments, due to the growing number of people that have access to mobile devices like smartphones and tablets. Mobill is interested in establishing a strong presence in the market to take advantage of the growing popularity of mobile consumers among Indian consumers.
Mobile commerce sees growing demand from Indian consumers
Mobile payments are considered a more convenient form of commerce for many people in India and consumers have been demanding for new commerce services in the country for some time. Mobill believes that the market is ready for a new generation of mobile payments solutions that can be used to purchase goods and services. Mobill is expected to put much of its efforts in the Indian market on the country’s public transportation system. The company claims that 80% of Sweden’s public transit operators make use of its M-Ticket service, which distributes digital tickets to commuters throughout the country in an efficient manner.
Security to be a major focus for Mobill
Security will be a major focus for Mobill, especially as the company looks to establish a foothold in the Indian market. Mobile payments are not just growing in popularity among Indian consumers, they are also becoming attractive targets for hackers. Mobile devices are beginning to traffic a large amount of financial information, which can be stolen and exploited by malicious parties. In teaming with Sterna Security, Mobill aims to address the mobile security concerns it has in regards to Indian mobile payments.
Mobill expected to compete with others in attractive Indian market
Because India has become a very attractive mobile commerce market, Mobill is expected to see competition from other companies looking to promote mobile payments services among consumers. Google is currently the largest competitor in the field of mobile commerce. Despite Google’s seemingly all encompassing presence, many consumers have shown their willingness to make use of mobile commerce services offered by other companies, which may bode well for Mobill’s future in India.
