Marketing for Mobile: Introduction

Why you need to, and how to get started

This is the first in a series of posts from a presentation I am currently giving to advertising & marketing organizations. Contact us if you’d like us to speak to your organization or group.

Hopefully I’m preaching to the choir with anyone involved in the web industry that mobile marketing is making huge waves. Mobile has unleashed the web. It’s everywhere. Three times more smartphones are being activated every minute around the world than there are babies being born. The low cost and barrier to entry is quickly putting a mobile phone into the hands of every person on the planet.

A recent Neilson study anticipates that by the end of this year, over half of Americans will have a smartphone.

Mobile is an already an extremely effective way to reach your audience, but I also believe that mobile may one day become the ONLY way to reach your audience with effectiveness. Think about it. It’s easy to block ads in a web browser. We can get our music commercial free through apps like Spotify and Google Music. Television is rapidly becoming download and pay-per-view. Mobile is as simple to measure with analytics as a website is, and people pay attention. For now.

The Mobile Movement: Understanding Smartphone Consumers:

Google has created a useful, short piece about smartphone users.

Top Mobile Trends

Mary Meeker, dubbed “Queen of the Net”, published this study that highlights the top trends surrounding mobile right now.

Mobile Platforms Have Hit a Critical Mass

There are now enough smartphone and mobile device users to justify advertising and marketing expenses.

• Mobile is Global
  It’s growing at a phenominal rate everywhere. If desired, you can easily reach a global audience
• Social Networking is Accelerating the Growth of Mobile
  Twitter, Google Plus and Facebook are driving people to be connected all day every day.
• Time is Shifting to Mobile Usage
  There are many tasks that could only be done on a computer now that can be done on a mobile device.
• Mobile Advertising – Growing Pains but Huge Promise
  PPC advertising tactics on mobile are tricky right now, but are showing rewards if the right steps are taken.
• “mCommerce” is Changing Shopping Behavior
  If it’s easy to buy on a mobile device, they will!
• Emergence of Virtual Goods and In-App Commerce
  In-App Commerce is the big win here for business. It’s an extremely easy way to pay.
• Not All Platforms Are Created Equal
  Android and iOS are the front runners, with Palm, Symbian and Microsoft far, far behind.
• Change Will Accellerate, New Players Emerging Rapidly
  Be on the lookout for new technologies and tactics employed at a rapid pace. NFC and services like Square will change the game.

The buzzword of the day is SoLoMo: Social, Local, Mobile.
Get used to it. It’s headed your way!

In my next post, I’ll discuss barriers to entry with mobile marketing, from lowest to highest. It’s time to get started.