We recently organised our first workshop of the year about moving onto Mobile and we thought about sharing some of what we discussed during the session.
The mobile industry at large
This is the year of the mobile. Yes, seriously it is! If you look at the number of Smartphone handsets and the mobile internet users in UK, Mobile should be definitely in your marketing mix. Figures support the statement: 32 millions Smartphone handsets are estimated by end 2011 and nearly 23 million Britons use mobile internet every month. Interesting, right?
Comscore also gives you even more reasons to think about your mobile strategy. Smartphone penetration reached 42% across the UK, France, Italy, Spain and Germany (EU5) in October, compared to 39% in the US.
Three things to consider about your mobile strategy
1. Audience Research
2. Define Mobile properties
3. Mobile inventory control = Success!
Many considerations exist. The main one would be to choose whether you develop a new app or a mobile-friendly website. However, before you start to build apps or a mobile-optimised version of your website, it is important to understand your audience. Make sure to research your audience first, looking into smartphone devices used, the time of the day they use it and their needs and expectations.
Depending on the resources and available budgets, there isn’t really one exclusive/best way in regard to the type of mobile property (apps vs sites), although mobile-friendly sites tend to be easier to update and more flexible for ad delivery. Developing a mobile app is ideal if you need to use some functionality of your Smartphone. You will also need to define the ad placement as well as remembering to test your rich media capabilities.
Once you gather all the information about who will be using your mobile app and have defined what your mobile property is, consider how you will control/monitor your mobile inventory (ad-serving, in-house sales or third-party networks).
Key takeaways
The panel of our last workshop explained about the different challenges when deciding to move into the mobile space. To put the discussion in nutshell, this is what needs to be remembered: Mobile is like a big birthday cake at a party with thousand guests. Come early to the party rather than late otherwise you won’t have a piece of that scrumptious cake.
In other words, think about your mobile strategy now otherwise you could miss revenue opportunities. Mobile really creates new and revenue streams so ensure you have a mobile presence where your audience spends their time!
