Bottom Line:

A recent survey shows Google and Facebook will catalyze mobile advertising budgets to grow 75 percent in 2014. Total digital ad spending across all industries is expected to hit $137.5 billion, and ads on smartphones and tablets are eating up about a quarter of that budget.

Though Facebook will continue growing to cover a fifth of the mobile ad market, Google still owns about half of those budget dollars.

Our take:

With the introduction of enhanced campaigns for Google’s AdWords platform, advertisers now have to think about Search Marketing across all devices. Like a web browser, Google search on mobile phones and tablets is a massive, often untapped channel for advertising. As screens and functionality on iPhones, iPads and Android devices get better, so do opportunities to engage customers.

In addition to their AdWords platform, Google also operates AdMob, which contains a huge amount of inventory and is unique in allowing tight control over exactly how your ads are placed. The same can be said of YouTube (which Google owns). Together, these platforms make up the majority of the mobile real estate available for advertisers.

Facebook’s value as an advertising platform comes from robust targeting tools that message users as they peruse their feeds. The sprawling social network partners with data providers, like Datalogix and BlueKai, to segment audiences based on attributes like demographics, purchase behavior and financial strength. These metrics hone in on key customers and allow advertisers to be smarter about spending media budgets.

Summary:

It’s no secret the world’s attention has turned to mobile. From work to weekend, small screens dominate our day. Getting your brand in front of consumers can be a challenge, but with strategic use of Google and Facebook, it is possible to become a signal in the noise and get your money’s worth out of growing mobile ad budgets.