What’s Trending with Search Marketers at the Search Insider Summit?

At the Search Insider Summit this week, marketing professionals gathered to discuss the opportunities and challenges of integrating search marketing into mobile and social media platforms. Our team was on-site to for a first hand look at what the industry was buzzing about.

 

Taking Mobile and Search to the Next Level

Mobile marketing is now a broad term used for any marketing activity reaching consumers through mobile devices. The summit took the conversation about mobile marketing one step further and focused on in-app advertising as an increasing amount of consumers are flocking to apps rather than mobile browsers. According to an April 2014 report published by mobile analytics company, Flurry, the average U.S. consumer spent 86 percent of their time on mobile devices in apps, an increase from 80 percent from 2013.

 

The most difficult part of mobile advertising is gathering accurate data and analytics, mainly because it’s difficult for marketers to track consumer behavior across different mobile devices. Apps make the job easier because all consumer engagement and solid data come from within the boundaries of the app. Additionally, MediaBrix found that in-app ads can yield 20 percent engagement and 2000 percent higher click-through.

 

Socializing Becomes Key

Industry leaders also urged marketers to prioritize the use of social platforms, as social media and marketing have the same ultimate goal: to build relationships. Word of mouth is golden and social media gives marketers a new distribution channel for fans to advocate on the company’s behalf.

 

In addition, Facebook, Instagram and other social media platforms host a massive audience. The time users spend on these sites and their respective apps is unmatched. By combining rich, accurate demographics and psychographics with a display network, social media proves to be an ideal destination for search marketers. A study by Marin Software found that there was a “multiplier effect” when integrating search and social. The study reveals, “Consumers clicking on an advertiser's paid-search and social advertisement will double conversion rates, compared with those who only click on the former. Consumers who click on search and social ads also spend more. The ads generate four times more revenue per click than users who only click on a social ad.”

 

One challenge that marketers face with social advertising is figuring out how to cater to a diverse audience. However, by using the tremendous amount of consumer data available through social media, marketers can test out different strategies and invest more in the area that is most successful.

 

Looking Forward

The key takeaway from the Search Insider Summit was loud and clear: there is a wealth of opportunities for search marketers. As consumers increasingly prioritize being digitally connected to the world, the savviest marketers are already discussing how to optimize their campaigns for a better consumer experience in-app and on social.