With nearly half of the world’s population owning a smartphone, it is clear that mobile advertising is a great way of catching the attention of potential customers.
Along with a high volume of smartphone users comes a major demand for mobile advertising. In 2019, over $190-billion was spent on mobile advertising.
With so much being spent, there’s obviously going to be a degree of choice when it comes to hiring a mobile creative agency to handle your mobile marketing strategy. Where do you start when it comes to choosing one?
In this article, we’ll look at some of the key questions you need to be asking before signing up with a mobile ad agency to ensure you’re putting your money where it’ll serve you best.
1. Are You a Mobile Only Creative Agency?
One of the most important questions you should be asking any mobile creative agency that you are considering using is whether they solely work in mobile advertising.
Make sure that mobile advertising isn’t just a sideline for the agency, or that it is not just a new area that they are exploring.
The last thing that you’ll want is to pay for a mobile ad campaign and for the agency to be just cutting their teeth on your job.
2. Which Platform Would You Recommend?
Between them both, Facebook and Google have over 63% of the market share for mobile advertising. These two platforms are hands down the biggest out there.
That said, there are hundreds of different options and the duopoly of Facebook and Google may not be the only baskets in which you should be putting your eggs.
Choosing the right platform for your campaign will often come down to the demographics of the campaign.
Find out which platforms your ad agency would recommend your campaign goes on. It’s far better if the ad agency focuses their attention on a proven platform that they have a great deal of experience and success with, rather than trying to cover all bases and missing the mark.
3. What Verticals Does the Mobile Creative Agency Have Experience In?
Does the mobile creative agency that you’re choosing have experience in your vertical? Find out which clients they’ve served in the past that were most similar to your organization and look at the campaigns that they have launched for them.
Try and find out about the success rates that they’ve had in your vertical too. They may have had experience creating campaigns for businesses that are similar to yours, however, this is only a valid experience if they have managed to succeed in their endeavours.
Experience with industries similar to you will mean that they understand your products and services. They’ll have a better grasp of what your customers want and need, and will have a great jumping-off point for starting a campaign for your business.
4. Do They Guarantee Performance?
When choosing a creative agency to create and run your mobile ad campaign you may be met with all kinds of guarantees.
For example, an agency may guarantee that you’ll be able to rank in the number one spot on Google if you go with them. The agency may claim that they’ll find you a specific number of new subscribers or followers if you sign up to their services.
This type of promise is often not something that can be guaranteed. While goals are important, they should be more realistic since there are factors outside of the ad agencies control that would affect such guarantees.
Check to ensure that the guarantees that the agency is making are realistic and tangible. If they seem too good to be true, they probably are.
5. How Will the Agency Communicate With You?
When it comes to communicating with their customers, you’ll want an ad agency that is clear and transparent in how they operate. From the outset, you’ll want to know exactly how and when you can expect to hear from the agency.
Keeping you in the loop is important both prior to the launch of an ad campaign and while it is live. You’ll want updates to ensure your advertising budget is being well spent with the agency that you’ve chosen.
Make sure that you’re happy with the level of communication, after all, you are the customer.
6. Are they Able to Provide References and Reviews?
What have previous clients thought about the services that the agency has provided? Ask for references and reviews from previous clients.
If you are able to do so, you should certainly speak to other companies that have used their services. How did they find the overall service that was on offer? What were the benefits to their business in using the service?
Many agencies will be able to provide testimonials from previous clients. Check their website to see who they’ve worked for in the past.
7. What are the Fees for Services?
Understanding how much their services are going to cost you is essential, but sometimes it’s not quite so clear to understand the fees for services that some agencies use.
Speak with the agency and find out exactly how much their services are going to cost you. That way, you’ll be able to see whether what their offering you fits in with your budget and expectations.
The agency should be able to give you a clear idea from the outset so that you’ll be able to plan your finances and ensure they’re the right team for the job.