Facebook Reports Record Mobile Ad Revenue – What’s Your Mobile Strategy?

During its earnings call on Wednesday, Facebook announced what many of us were expecting; mobile growth and revenue for the company is increasing at a dramatic rate. Mobile monthly active users are up a whopping 54% to 751 million from Q1 of last year, moving the needle even further past the social network’s active desktop users (a milestone the company hit in Q4). Even more impressive is that 30% of Facebook’s Q1 revenue came from mobile ads, up from 23% last quarter.

In the last few months, Facebook has begun offering several new types of ad units to advertisers. Amongst these are mobile app install ads. In fact, during the earnings call Zuckerberg said that mobile app install ads are “one of most important new ad products” that Facebook is offering, and have been instrumental in generating the massive amount of revenue the company is producing via mobile.

While it’s not entirely clear where these users are coming from, or in what demographic, Facebook’s revenue from mobile ads demonstrates that they understand the importance of targeting users on mobile devices. Facebook is making a smart move to capitalize on the fact that there are now more users on mobile than desktop by pushing ads to these users. The result? A significant payoff for the massive social network as they offer more advertising on mobile.

HasOffers’ CEO Peter Hamilton predicted several months ago that we would see “the IAB come out with studies showing the mobile web overtaking the desktop web”. With this announcement from Facebook, it’s apparent that this is close to becoming a reality (and we’re not even halfway through the year yet). It’s critical for any brand to know where their users are – and not just what type of social network they are using. Understanding that users are accessing websites, blogs and even shopping via either desktop or mobile is critical to understanding how best to serve information – and where to advertise to potential customers.

As mobile overtakes desktop, it’s more important than ever to not just have a mobile-ready website (or even your own app), but also to be sure that you’re integrated with the right partners. This will allow you to reach potential users who have abandoned the desktop, so they can discover your business while on mobile. As Facebook has demonstrated with the amount of revenue that is generated by mobile ads, it’s critical to look at your own mobile strategy to avoid missing out on potential revenue for your business.

Author

Becky is the Senior Content Marketing Manager at TUNE. Before TUNE, she handled content strategy and marketing communications at several tech startups in the Bay Area. Becky received her bachelor's degree in English from Wake Forest University. After a decade in San Francisco and Seattle, she has returned home to Charleston, SC, where you can find her strolling through Hampton Park with her pup and enjoying the simple things between adventures with friends and family.