Spending on mobile search ads in the U.S. will jump 55% to $3.6 billion next year, of which Google will take 92.4% share, according to research released Monday. Although the majority of Google's mobile ad revenue comes from search, the media will grow more slowly than native display formats. eMarketer estimates that Google maintains a 93.3% share of the overall $1.99 billion U.S. mobile search ad market in 2012. "Shifting consumer behavior has dramatically increased the volume of mobile searches and paid clicks on mobile devices, but advertisers remain hesitant to pay rates per mobile click comparable to those on the desktop, as mobile searchers are still less likely to convert into purchasers than their desktop counterparts," according to the report. Overall, the amount spent on mobile search ads in the United States pales in comparison to investments in native ad formats. The convenience of native ad formats like Facebook's mobile newsfeed ads and Twitter’s Promoted Products have pushed up the amount marketers spend on U.S. mobile ads. It turns out the ads are successful at reaching those spending time on smaller screens. eMarketer estimates that U.S. ad budgets will rise 180% to $4 billion this year for mobile advertising -- display, search and messaging-based ads served to mobile phones and tablets. Released in September 2012, the company previously forecast 80% growth to $2.61 billion. Estimates put 2013 at $7.19 billion, and nearly $21 billion by 2016. Pointing to Facebook’s Q3 mobile performance as a major reason for the uptick, eMarketer estimates Facebook’s U.S. mobile ad revenue at $339 million in 2012, but it still pales in comparison to Google at $2.17 billion. Estimates are based on data from research firms and investment banks, as well as other sources such as ad revenue, impressions and pricing. Overall, U.S. mobile ad revenue estimates demonstrate an uphill climb. eMarketer estimates Google's U.S. net mobile ad revenue at $3.9 billion in 2013, rising to $6.3 billion in 2014. The uptick this year was fueled by direct-response advertising, according to the research firm. Comparing Google's growth with Facebook's, the social network should climb from $851 million in 2013 to $1.2 billion in 2014. Pandora should follow with $347 million and $496 million, respectively. Twitter sits at $249 million and $383 million, and Apple at $213 million and $376, respectively. eMarketer estimates Facebook will generate 18.4% share of the U.S. mobile display advertising market in 2012. Google’s mobile display business takes 17% -- earning $315 million in the U.S. this year, driven primarily by strength of its AdMob network and relationships with advertisers looking to extend their display efforts to mobile devices. "The bulk of future growth for Google’s mobile display business, eMarketer predicts, will come from mobile monetization of YouTube," according to the report. Apple, which holds about 6.7% of the U.S. mobile display ad market, has the potential to capture market share in the long run, according to eMarketer. Millennial Media, by contrast, which has performed similarly to Apple, has less potential to scale -- but it does have an outsized presence in the marketplace, despite its 5.1% share of the after-TAC market.
Spending on mobile search ads in the U.S. will jump 55% to $3.6 billion next year, of which Google will take 92.4% share, according to research released Monday. Although the majority of Google's mobile ad revenue comes from search, the media will grow more slowly than native display formats. eMarketer estimates that Google maintains a 93.3% share of the overall $1.99 billion U.S. mobile search ad market in 2012. "Shifting consumer behavior has dramatically increased the volume of mobile searches and paid clicks on mobile devices, but advertisers remain hesitant to pay rates per mobile click comparable to those on the desktop, as mobile searchers are still less likely to convert into purchasers than their desktop counterparts," according to the report. Overall, the amount spent on mobile search ads in the United States pales in comparison to investments in native ad formats. The convenience of native ad formats like Facebook's mobile newsfeed ads and Twitter’s Promoted Products have pushed up the amount marketers spend on U.S. mobile ads. It turns out the ads are successful at reaching those spending time on smaller screens. eMarketer estimates that U.S. ad budgets will rise 180% to $4 billion this year for mobile advertising -- display, search and messaging-based ads served to mobile phones and tablets. Released in September 2012, the company previously forecast 80% growth to $2.61 billion. Estimates put 2013 at $7.19 billion, and nearly $21 billion by 2016. Pointing to Facebook’s Q3 mobile performance as a major reason for the uptick, eMarketer estimates Facebook’s U.S. mobile ad revenue at $339 million in 2012, but it still pales in comparison to Google at $2.17 billion. Estimates are based on data from research firms and investment banks, as well as other sources such as ad revenue, impressions and pricing. Overall, U.S. mobile ad revenue estimates demonstrate an uphill climb. eMarketer estimates Google's U.S. net mobile ad revenue at $3.9 billion in 2013, rising to $6.3 billion in 2014. The uptick this year was fueled by direct-response advertising, according to the research firm. Comparing Google's growth with Facebook's, the social network should climb from $851 million in 2013 to $1.2 billion in 2014. Pandora should follow with $347 million and $496 million, respectively. Twitter sits at $249 million and $383 million, and Apple at $213 million and $376, respectively. eMarketer estimates Facebook will generate 18.4% share of the U.S. mobile display advertising market in 2012. Google’s mobile display business takes 17% -- earning $315 million in the U.S. this year, driven primarily by strength of its AdMob network and relationships with advertisers looking to extend their display efforts to mobile devices. "The bulk of future growth for Google’s mobile display business, eMarketer predicts, will come from mobile monetization of YouTube," according to the report. Apple, which holds about 6.7% of the U.S. mobile display ad market, has the potential to capture market share in the long run, according to eMarketer. Millennial Media, by contrast, which has performed similarly to Apple, has less potential to scale -- but it does have an outsized presence in the marketplace, despite its 5.1% share of the after-TAC market.
Facebook is a special kind of marketing conundrum. Even as marketers struggle to find meaningful social media metrics, and amidst Facebook’s own struggles to attract advertisers and raise its stock price, marketers continue to flock to the social network. That’s because, despite the metrics mystery and stock market skepticism, one thing is absolutely certain: consumers love Facebook. Knowing that audiences are ready and waiting on Facebook, many marketers haphazardly create pages on the network and begin posting away. But the key to achieving a true Facebook win lies in focusing on what drove you to the social network in the first place: your audience. Here are some critical user stats that brands must consider if they want to be successful on Facebook. Unlikes by number of brand posts We studied a random selection of 80 Facebook brand pages and uncovered an interesting trend: the number of daily Fan “Unlikes” increases with a brand’s number of posts each day. In other words, the more times a brand posts, the greater the risk of losing Fans! In fact, our research has revealed that unlikes for these brands increased by 15 percent when going from one to two posts and by another 13 percent once posting jumped to three or more times per day. The lesson here is to post relevant, useful content and not to inundate your audience with self-serving marketing posts or benign conversation starters. Pay attention to the types of posts and topics your Fans respond positively to, and adjust your content to make every post count. Social networks offer marketers the opportunity to engage in a two-way conversation with users, so your voice should never be the only one on your Facebook wall. When Facebook users “Like” a brand, they expect some product updates, but they also expect exclusive coupons, polls, special offers and other forms of relevant yet engaging content. They expect to be treated like a brand VIP, and they should be given the respect of the brand ambassador they may grow to become. In posting brand-centric idle chatter, many brands are reminding users that in fact, they haven’t done anything for them lately. The lifetime of a post Post data from the top 100 Facebook brands was examined with an eye to Fan comment activity within 24 hours of creation. The percentage of total user comments, on average, was reviewed at various intervals after the post: 30 seconds, one minute, 15 minutes, etc. After reviewing Facebook “Likes” during the first day of a brand’s post, we found that, on average, over half of a post's comments occur within its first 15 minutes of life. After 24 hours, the post’s life cycle is effectively over, with 94 percent of its total comments already made. Does this mean brands should be posting every 15 minutes? Not unless they want to be “Unliked.” What it means is that brands need to manage their expectations. A post may have tremendous reach on Facebook, but its lifespan is short -- so don’t hang too much on a single post. And as noted above, if you have nothing engaging to say, it’s better to say nothing at all. Mobile versus desktop usage patterns The analysis also looked at a diverse sample of 25 Facebook brand pages to determine whether they received more Likes from mobile or desktop users throughout the week and discovered that:
Breakfast may always be ready, but is the bed & breakfast industry ready to leapfrog into the Technology Age with a high-tech, social media-driven company that eliminated its much-beloved print directories? Well, we’re about to find out. A newly branded company called Bescover.com (a play on Rediscover Bed & Breakfasts) has Marie Lanier as a vice president. Her mother, Pamela, produced 30 years of B&B directories, the last of which was published several years ago. The CEO is Thomas Brown, who was part of the group that sold the UpTake Networks, a travel research site, to Groupon. Together, they launched Bescover.com, which they call “the digital marketing partner” for the industry. It promises “an all-in-one marketing solution that leverages digital media, the internet and social media channels on behalf of innkeepers.” For just $34 a month (for any sized inn), subscribers receive a ready-made, single-page control center that promises to guide innkeepers through their daily marketing initiatives. The fee can be cancelled at any time, but the company promises to add new services on a regular basis at no additional cost. Brown said that Bescover will place B&B’s on an even internet playing field with other lodging options. In many cases, B&B’s are simply not a presence on travel search or social media. Aside from a web site that lists more than 8,500 inns in more than 30 countries, the initial product includes: