Brand advertisers will be increasingly focused on running mobile ads to engage and communicate with holiday shoppers this year. What are some mobile advertising minefields to avoid?

With about 80 million consumers accessing the mobile Web regularly, the opportunity is definitely there. However, a proper holiday-tailored approach is needed.

?One common mistake to avoid in mobile advertising is not leveraging the personal nature of the mobile medium,? said Paran Johar, chief marketing officer of Jumptap, New York. ?Mobile advertising, though a subset of PC Internet advertising, has less clutter and thus has a much greater chance of connecting with your audience and providing a value exchange for their time.?

Let?s get down to it. Here are the six most common mistakes that brands and marketers should avoid in mobile advertising this holiday season:

No. 1 ? Avoid buying cheap impressions
Avoid buying cheap impressions and not focusing on making an impression on the target audience, per Mr. Johar.

Advertisers often get lured into the cheapest inventory. Mr. Johar always recommends evaluating the quality of those impressions.

As the saying goes, ?you get what you paid for.?

?Look at your holiday campaigns and think of the key role mobile can play within the campaign, not as a separate buy,? said Dani Cushion, director of marketing at Millennial Media, Baltimore, MD ?Think of your overall campaign as an integrated experience.?

No. 2 ? Avoid not setting clear metrics for success
Whether they are performance or brand focused, setting clear metrics for success are imperative in mobile advertising during the holidays, per Mr. Johar. 

Engage with a third-party research firm such as Dynamic Logic to understand the brand implications of a campaign.

No. 3 ? Not leveraging targeting parameters
Mobile advertising enables incredible targeting parameters, per Mr. Johar. 

Beyond behavioral and contextual, ad networks offer targeting such as geo, demo and keyword-based.

?The ability to engage your target audience at scale is unparalleled in mobile,? Ms. Cushion said. ?Think about who you need to reach, when you want to reach them, and what you want them to do for an efficient and effective buy. 

?Mobile advertising offers the unique ability to target your audience through a number of methods, including behavioral targeting, demographic targeting and location-based targeting by country, region, DMA and zip code,? she said.

No. 4 ? Not focusing on the experience post-click
Not providing a fluid mobile experience post-click is a big mistake, Mr. Johar said.  

Advertisers should do user scenarios for a post-click experience that is customized for the mobile audience.

?You can make an engaging mobile experience for consumers with rich media creative and highly-engaging post-click actions, including the ability to view videos, drive to social media sites, download apps, directly purchase products and much more,? Ms. Cushion said. ?Today?s mobile ads offer consumers the ability to engage in a meaningful way with your brand.?

No. 5 ? Not taking the past into consideration
Leverage what was learned in mobile from previous campaigns to lock up mobile inventory.

Where demand exceeded supply in previous quarters, savvy marketers are quickly realizing the ROI and investing heavily, Mr. Johar said.

No. 6 ? Creating ads for a single platform / carrier / mobile device
Not all consumers are on smartphones or on a single carrier.

Excluding the full, relevant audience from a mobile advertising campaign will limit its success.

Do not forget about connected devices such as gaming devices and tablets, feature phones, and cross-platform opportunities.

?Not advertising via mobile misses a key way to reach and engage your target consumer when they are highly-receptive to messages,? Ms. Cushion said.

Best practices from Millennial Media:
1. Start with reach. To reach your audience at scale, you need to develop a true cross-platform campaign. The majority of consumers do not have an iPhone.

Or even a smartphone. Don?t forget about the consumers who use feature phones or who can be reached on gaming devices or tablets.

2. Targeting is ultra-important.  Know your audience, then work with your advertising partner on the best way to reach them.

Think about time of day, day of the week, and who you want to reach, such as moms and sports enthusiasts.

3. Drive your objectives. You can engage your target consumer at every level of the purchase funnel.

Drive awareness, capture information for re-marketing, drive consumers to brick-and-mortar locations, or drive mcommerce sales directly through mobile.

Identify your campaign goals, then customize your message and strategy to achieve those results.

Final take
Giselle Tsirulnik is senior editor of Mobile Marketer
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