frankly speaking

Moving to Mobile

I’ve come to understand a rather interesting fact over the last couple weeks: the world is moving very quickly into the mobile space. This is clearly evident with the increase in number smartphones and tablet computers (which operate mainly on a mobile operating system) being sold. We’re going to be a mobile world, one that is constantly connected to the World Wide Web. 

Think about it, there are 4.6 Billion mobile phones in the world (and this doesn’t take into account the number of tablets), all making us interconnected to each other. A mobile phone number (in my opinion) is more personal than an email address. Similarly, if an advertiser knows what kind of phone and/or what kind of mobile operating system their customers and potential customers use, they could deliver a more targeted message and user experience to the user.

The problem that most advertisers will have is to optimize their messaging for mobile platforms. Mobile phones aren’t as dynamic as computers, and you’re limited to what types of ads you can serve on a mobile phone. Likewise, the user experience on a mobile platform is completely different from that of using a computer and may be completely different from one mobile platform to another.

Having said that, the opportunity for advertisers via mobile platforms is enormous. Companies like Foursquare, Gilt Groupe and even more traditional e-retailers like Overstock.com (with their purchase of the domain o.co) are betting large sums of money on the success of the mobile platform.

The bottom line is that advertisers need to realize that traditional online marketing is not enough anymore - a key ingredient in any marketing plan will be your mobile strategy.