iMediaWorksConnect by @iMediaMichelle

How Do You Define Mobile?

For most people “mobile” has traditionally = cell phone = talking.  But in the last two years the mobile landscape has changed dramatically, especially in the U.S. with the debut of the iPhone, Apple App Store and now Kindle, iPad and other similar tablet devices.  Mobile is quickly becoming about information access, either through the mobile web or stand-alone applications you can download and store on your device de jour.

The Pew Internet & American Life Project and The Nielsen Company released a joint report last week, “The Rise of Apps Culture”, which illustrates just how fast and how prolific the voice to data consumption change has occurred.  According to Pew’s estimates, of the 82% of adults today who are cell phone users, 43% have software applications or “apps” on their phones. When taken as a portion of the entire U.S. adult population, that equates to 35% who have cell phones with apps.  While usage of apps is still maturing and the propensity to download and maintain applications is high – the average adult has 18 applications on their phone, with younger adults typically having a much higher number of apps on their smart phone.  According to Nielsen, gaming, news/weather and maps categories currently top the most popular downloads list.

Is the consumer’s mobile app addiction just a fad, or will this behavior start to define new standards for the user experience?  My three predictions:

(1) Apps Are the New WWW

Just like the websites of the late 1990s, consumers will soon expect apps to stop being basic “brochureware” and become more interactive and useful.  For an app to become sticky, it will have to enable the consumer to perform functions that are core to their daily lives.  In the travel industry, capabilities such as mobile booking, check-in, rebooking and upgrades will quickly become the new standards.

(2) No One Is An Island

With thousands of apps available and limited screen space, users will soon quickly discard those that perform only a single niche function.  Instead, they’ll be looking for branded apps that integrate well with other applications in their mobile toolkit.  For example, I might be using my airline app and shown a weekend fare deal that I want to save and come back to later when I have more time.  A great option would be for me to be able to tag the deal with some keywords and then add it to my Evernote, which is another app I use for maintaining my overall to do list.  Perhaps it would also link to a travel guide book for that destination the next time I open my iBook reader on my iPad.

(3) The 4^th Screen Becomes Intuitive

I’ve talked a lot about apps, but that doesn’t mean that the Mobile Web will be ignored.  In fact, I think the app culture can help improve the mobile web browsing experience.  One way I see this happening is through Mobile Web Landing Pages becoming true Portal Pages.  Mobile is all about where you contextually are in the moment – place, time of day, season, surroundings, etc.  So why not have mobile web landing pages that read all of those aspects and deliver a true contextual experience?  Imagine being at the Starbucks at Chicago’s O’Hare Airport and seeing an airline’s mobile web landing page that shows you pictures of their lounge, map of the concourse you are on, targeted ancillary and other retail offers, tweets and status updates from other passengers nearby and quick links to customer service if you need it (it knows you already went through security in Terminal 3 and are waiting to board your flight).  Conversely, if it’s Wednesday a few weeks before a holiday and I’m working at a Starbucks while on a business trip, the airline’s mobile web landing page would display inspirational destination content based on the recommendations of my social network, a Starbucks coupon, targeted ancillary and other upgrade offers for the return trip home and a mileage calculator showing how close I am to my next free trip.

There are lots of opportunities for brands to engage their customer through mobile - it will be interesting to see which devices will dominate next: smart phones or tablets?  What are your predictions?

RESEARCH: The Social Media Habits of the Fortune 500

We’re on the verge of 2010.  A decade ago the World Wide Web was starting to catch on within our society and soon after brand marketers claimed they “just needed a website”.  The rules of Web 1.0 boasted by self-proclaimed experts were straight forward and simple – “build it and they will come”.  Well, for those of us who were rolling up our sleeves and getting our hands dirty with global content management systems and complex e-commerce integrations, that mantra quickly proved to be false.  Websites needed dynamic content and specific calls to action.  They also required intuitive search to drive traffic and smart interactive design and editorial programming to attract users and keep them engaged on sites.

Now ten years later, social media is on a similar rise, with most brands “just needing a Facebook Fan Page and a Twitter Account”, believing their fans “will just come”.  But instead of a single digital domain that brands absolutely control, the Web has evolved into a multi-dimensional conversation with scores of voices and influence that brands no longer dictate.  The digital world is now run by everyday individuals, many of whom not only have access to, but actually have a direct hand in creating the innovative tools and rich content that are shaping the Integrated Social Web.  Hmmm…I’m starting to hear those familiar Twilight Zone sounds, are you?

Social media is the next frontier brands are aspiring to master and master it they should.  We are already starting to see that good social media habits matter in 21^st century marketing along several areas:

• Customer Satisfaction - consumers are increasingly using social channels such as Blogs, YouTube, Facebook and Twitter to express their satisfaction levels with specific brands and seek problem resolution. (Airlines in particular are learning this; some are excelling and others are learning lessons the hard way)
• Cost Savings - consumers freely share tips, best practices and other product and service how-tos with one another, helping to reduce strain on customer call centers as well as resources needed to create and maintain self-help content
• Direct Sales - consumers are proactively seeking out new channels within social to research, shop and purchase discounted goods and services. (Dell has demonstrated the power of social shopping with sales through its Dell Direct Twitter Account)
• Revenue Generation - unique social campaigns that become viral are sparking branded searches that help drive users to a brand's social as well as Web sales channels
• Brand Love - as social media increasingly becomes part of the mainstream, more consumers are relying on a brand's participation within social media to serve as a benchmark for its personal credibility and immediate relevancy (see my previous post, JCrew, Whoops: Your Personal Shopper is Socially MIA)
  

Earlier this summer, I became increasingly curious about how large brands are utilizing the Social Web and the audiences they attract through their key channels.  Were there thriving communities or desolate graveyards in the F500 social landscape?  Were F500 brands and their agencies learning anything, or just repeating the same patterns from Web 1.0?  To answer these and hundreds of other questions, I began an independent study on the Social Media Habits of the Fortune 500.  My research examines eight social media habit dimensions, within eight key social media channels, across sixteen industry segments.  Some interesting highlights so far on the F500:

• Over 6 million people are engaging F500 brands in key social media channels
• LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter are the most prevalent channels amongst F500 brands
• YouTube, iPhone applications and Podcasts are the most heavily used to promote product usage and sales
• Over one third of F500 key social media channels have been inactive for over six months
• Facebook Fan Pages drive 77% of the Fortune 500 audience within their key social media channels
• Photos and blogs are primary channel sources for brand mentions for 59% of the F500
• Facebook Groups are the largest source of negative branding for F500 brands
• Only 18% of the F500 are integrating their key social media channels
  

You can view more of my initial summary observations via my SlideShare Presentation.  Over the coming weeks, I’ll be sharing additional snippets of the benchmark data, along with my and industry peer’s analyses on the implications for brands on their road to social.  Stay tuned for upcoming segments on specific industries, channels and habit best practices – as always, your comments and questions are welcome.  For my readers, a little poll to kick off the discussion – which industry, do you expect to have the “best” social media habits and why?  Please tag your posts/tweets with #getsocial.

Episode 7: Mobile: The Next Digital Frontier

To date, this series has focused on understanding how consumers and brands are adopting and evolving their communications with one another through various digital channels.  So far, we’ve covered ones that would be considered primarily “social media” channels.  In parallel, mobile platforms and their capabilities have come a long way and are now the central communications point for most consumers.  I think we’re at an inflection point for both the social real-time web to explode via mobile, so on yesterday’s podcast, I asked Steen Anderson, from the mobile agency 5th Finger, to share some of his perspectives on how these two worlds are converging and steps brand marketers should be taking to plan their moves in this next digital frontier.

In our conversation, Steen and I discussed a number of growth stats about mobile usage, noting that utility still slightly edges out entertainment.  In the top usage categories were: accessing mobile “directories” ranks at the top with consumers, followed by movies, entertainment, social networking and news.  Interestingly, North America is leading much of the mobile web usage due to the introduction and quick adoption of the iPhone and other smartphones.  While their penetration remains only a small portion of the overall population, Steen predicts that more and more consumers will make the transition to these more powerful mobile devices, especially as carriers like Sprint improve communication speed with the dawn of 4G networks.

So, what do these coming changes offer brands who are seeking opportunities to tap into the real-time mobile web?  According to Pew Internet Life, Twitter users are considered highly mobile, with 82% owning a mobile phone an using to send text messages.  While Twitter is quickly becoming a fantastic way to engage with consumers, Steen cautions that the targeting capabilities have yet to fully mature.  Facebook is much more of a near-term opportunity for brand marketers to target and reach specific demographics via mobile ad solutions now being offered. 

Towards the end of our discussion, Steen brought up the concept of “mobile loyalty programs”, which I think will be heavily influenced by the culture of social networking (especially if you’re a frequent traveler).  Brands, should prepare their engines for warp speed – the journey begins now.

You can listen to the full podcast episode here. http://www.blogtalkradio.com/MichelleBatten_iMediaWorks

The first part of this series will wrap up next week with my guest, Reuben Steiger, CEO of Millions of Us, to discuss, “Virtual Worlds: Build It, But Will They Come?” – please join us live for the conversation at 2pm (EDT).