Marketing Profs Wireless Internet Article

Earlier this week, Marketing Profs published my article on wireless internet marketing. Here’s a snippet:

So for the intelligent marketer the question must be, “Is mobile the right medium to reach my constituencies?” To make that decision, marketers have to be aware of three critical trends that focus on mobile data usage:

1. The end-user of mobile data tends to be younger. According to the Pew Internet Project, approximately one-third of all adult American internet users (34 percent) have logged onto the internet by wireless means using a laptop, PDA, or cell phone. These users are younger than traditional Internet users: 37 percent of 18-34 year-olds, while only 18 percent of the 35-49 group use wireless.²
2. A wide variety of factors—low bandwidth, hundreds of different devices, small screens, different viewing environments and standards—have prevented widespread adoption. They have forced many mobile applications to reduce visuals and rely on simple text applications.³
3. While wireless data is still in its childhood, wireless mobile social media is in its infancy. That means social applications like mobile Facebook, Jaiku, and Twitter are still very early, and unproven from a marketing standpoint.⁴

In the short term, marketers need to make sure that their constituency is mobile friendly (less than 34 years old), and that they can convey value across diverse devices on various mobile networks. If the recipe is right, then its’ time to get cooking.

The article goes into some factors to watch as mobile social media evolves. You can read the whole thing on Marketing Profs.