I recently came across this fantastic article from the Harvard Business Review website, titled "How People Really Use Their Mobile". The link to the full preview article can be found here.
For me, it's always been a challenge understanding how consumers really use their mobile device (whether it be a smartphone or tablet). This article gives great new insight into this - there are really seven key motivations for using a mobile device. More importantly, there's a clear contrast between how people are using their mobile device and the disconnect between what marketers are doing (in mobile advertising, in-apps brand engagement and mobile marketing).
To marketers, the prospect of reaching shoppers through their smartphones is tantalizing. But mobile doesn't always mean on the go. New data show that 68% of consumers' smartphone use happens at home. And users' most common activity is not shopping or socializing but engaging in what researchers at BBDO and AOL call "me time."
Seven primary motivations for people using their mobile device.
The reasons consumers use smartphones can be broken down into the goals listed below, along with the average monthly minutes and percentage of interactions devoted to each.
Where Marketers Go Wrong.
Marketers often get it wrong when looking to either place ads in front of potential customers, or in understanding true user behavior.
Lesson number 1 for marketers - Making Bad Assumptions About App Use.
Apps can have more than one purpose. Facebook, for instance, can be used for socializing, self-expression, or discovery. And if you're using a shopping app to dream about what kind of couch or pizza you might order tomorrow, you're in "me time."
Lesson number 2 for marketers - Failing to Connect with Users During "Me Time".
Mobile ads that consumers see during "me time" generally do poorly on effectiveness (as measured by the percentage of viewers who click on the ad, search for the product, recall the product, or make a purchase). That's because the majority of messages aren't relevant to the context, are easy to ignore, or get in the way.
For me, it's always been a challenge understanding how consumers really use their mobile device (whether it be a smartphone or tablet). This article gives great new insight into this - there are really seven key motivations for using a mobile device. More importantly, there's a clear contrast between how people are using their mobile device and the disconnect between what marketers are doing (in mobile advertising, in-apps brand engagement and mobile marketing).
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To marketers, the prospect of reaching shoppers through their smartphones is tantalizing. But mobile doesn't always mean on the go. New data show that 68% of consumers' smartphone use happens at home. And users' most common activity is not shopping or socializing but engaging in what researchers at BBDO and AOL call "me time."
Seven primary motivations for people using their mobile device.
The reasons consumers use smartphones can be broken down into the goals listed below, along with the average monthly minutes and percentage of interactions devoted to each.
Where Marketers Go Wrong.
Marketers often get it wrong when looking to either place ads in front of potential customers, or in understanding true user behavior.
Lesson number 1 for marketers - Making Bad Assumptions About App Use.
Apps can have more than one purpose. Facebook, for instance, can be used for socializing, self-expression, or discovery. And if you're using a shopping app to dream about what kind of couch or pizza you might order tomorrow, you're in "me time."
Mobile ads that consumers see during "me time" generally do poorly on effectiveness (as measured by the percentage of viewers who click on the ad, search for the product, recall the product, or make a purchase). That's because the majority of messages aren't relevant to the context, are easy to ignore, or get in the way.
