There’s no doubt that we live in a digital world. We love our technology, as is evidenced by the 85% of Americans ages 18 to 29 who own smartphones. Smart marketers have learned to capitalized on this sea change, shifting their focus to digital ads — specifically, those viewed on mobile devices. And while many companies strive to compete in the mobile ad arena, there’s one that continues to overshadow the rest: Facebook.
According to Business Insider, ads that originated from mobile app installations represented 17% of Facebook’s overall ad revenue in 2015. That’s an impressive increase from the company’s stats from 2012, when ad revenue from mobile devices accounted for 11% of its entire ad yields.
In fact, Facebook gets the majority of its revenue from mobile use. Consumers are steadily opting for tablet and phone use over personal computers and laptops, so it’s no surprise that mobile data consumption is at an all-time high.
But now, Snapchat is trying to hit Facebook where it hurts.
Business Insider reports that Snap, the parent company behind popular social sharing platform Snapchat, is allowing its advertisers to target Snapchat users that are likely to download apps put forth by these other companies.
The new tool is said to be a direct attack on Facebook, which has recently come under fire from advertisers who don’t want their ads placed near questionable content. Twitter, Youtube, and Google have recently received backlash over the same concerns.
Snap will use goal-based bidding in its new advertising tool, which allows marketers to target users who have interacted with ads in the past or who are more likely to install certain apps.
And while 70-80% of digital users ignore paid ads in web searches, Snap is confident that these kinds of targeted ads will pay off without alienating current Snap-lovers.
Peter Sellis, director of monetization at Snap Inc., said in a statement to Business Insider:
“We’ve been listening closely to direct-response advertisers and are excited to announce the ability to ‘bid for installs’ in our auction. This is a new, cost-efficient way to drive app installs right from Snapchat.”
