One of the creative challenges of digital marketing is hitting the sweet spot between trying new services and staying on top of industry trends, all while still delivering results. Getting a client’s go-ahead to invest their valuable ad dollars in an untested service requires a strong relationship and a high level of trust. When all is said and done, you want to be able to come back and say, “Congratulations. You are now trillionaires.” While many digital marketers are hoping to use mobile as a tool to accomplish that goal, it seems that many marketers advertising across mobile platforms are noticing a strong discrepancy in regards to return on investment by platform. While the future is mobile, and people remain active on Facebook, it seems like the marriage between Android devices and Facebook is not a winning combination.
According to this little gem of a report by VentureBeat, which draws from research conducted by mobile advertising company Nanigans, mobile advertising on Facebook for Android is a surefire way to lose all your money faster than going all-in on a 7-2 offsuit in Texas Hold ‘Em. After reviewing the ROI of more than 200 billion mobile retail ads on Facebook, Nanigans reports that ads on iPhone generate1,790% more ROI than their Android counterparts. That works out to be an ROI of 162% across iOS, and an ROI of -10% across Android. Negative ten percent.
The news isn’t all bad if you’re advertising on Android, though. If your advertising goal is impressions, Facebook CPCs on Android are $.18 versus $.40 on iOS. Android also has the bigger market share worldwide, so there are more opportunities to drive impressions on Android devices than iOS devices. However, the evidence suggests that if you are a retailer that wants to make money off of your ad spend, Facebook advertising on iOS is the way to go.
So what’s the takeaway here? Know your client, be strategic, and stay on top of the data. This report speaks to retailers whose advertisers have been riding the very real trend of increased mobile internet usage percentages. If the dissemination of these trends becomes ubiquitous, it will create new gaps on both platforms that might be leveraged. These trends may not be the same for non-retailers. It’s also important to recall that this study doesn’t consider Windows Phone, which has been in third place for quite some time and continues to gain market share.
As for staying on top of the data, well, our blog helps you do just that.