Why a Mobile Strategy?
Content consumption is shifting away from the desktop and more to mobile devices. Mobile social media consumption in Japan is growing at five times the rate of social media consumption on the desktop; this is not a fad. Some experts believe the mobile apps market is already creating a bigger impact than the online advertising industry.
15 reasons why every business needs a mobile strategy.
The average person has their cellphone within reach 14 hours a day. @Impiger
450 million smart phones are projected to be shipped in 2012 – more than notebook and desktop computers combined. (Brandanywhere and Luth Research)
83% of U.S. adults have either a cell phone or a smart phone. (Pew Internet)
There are an estimated 82 million U.S. mobile Web users. (Millennial Media)
35% of U.S. adults have accessed the Internet using their phone. (Pew Internet)
One in two consumers would give preference to a brand that has a mobile site.(Brandanywhere and Luth Research)
40% of U.S. women own smart phones. (comScore)
32% of moms in the U.S. owned a smart phone in 2010. (comScore)
1/3 of U.S women use the mobile web at least once a week. (comScore)
Only 4.8% of U.S. retailers have mobile-specific websites. (Brandanywhere and Luth Research)
By 2015, worldwide mobile advertising revenue will rise to about $24.1 billion.(Informa Telecoms & Media)
12.3 million U.S. mobile users have clicked on a mobile advertisement and then went on to purchase the item. (Lightspeed Research for mobileSQUARED)
U.S. mobile ad spending will reach $1 billion in 2011. (eMarketer)
Eight in 10 U.S. mobile users currently use or will use mobile text coupons within 24 months. (IHL Group)
94% of mobile phone owners have text included as a part of their phone plan.(IHL Group)
85% of U.S. retailers support the iPhone/iPod platform and 88% plan to do so.(IHL Group)
Mobile Sites vs. Mobile Apps
Every day more and more users get smart phones. Its predicted that the next largest number of online customers will come from smart phones, so having a mobile version of your website is important. One of the fastest growing activities people are doing on the mobile web today is search, and the growth of mobile search is soaring. The reason you need a mobile optimized website is because of the usability issues normal websites run into on the small mobile screens. Drop down menus, excess of content and large images all add to a bad experience, and sometimes an unusable website.
An App needs to provide some value to the user beyond the regular or mobile website. Just replicating the same content in the same format in an App does not offer that value. It should offer features that are not on the website. It should make it easy for the user to share the App and/or the App content with others. A successful App will also have one or more features that draw users back to the App on a regular basis.
