Making Mobile Matter

By the end of 2009, more than 4.6 billion people had mobile phones, according to the International Telecommunications Union. That’s almost 70 percent of the world’s population. In Europe and Asia, mobile phones are already standard means for consumers to conduct business and make purchases. North America is just now catching up.

Seamless web integration is fast becoming standard on mobile phones, and networks are being pushed to improve data communications speed and capabilities so they can remain competitive. That’s why 2010 could be a banner year for mobile marketing.

A recent blog post by two mobile strategists, Dan Neumann and Allison Mooney, offers a leading edge look at where mobile marketing could be headed this year.  Here are just three of the trends they say will be shaping the way marketers interact with consumers:

Localization

In a previous post, I spoke about the steady rise of interest in Foursquare, which bases its success on users checking in with each other from specific locations, like bars and restaurants. Neumann and Mooney suggest this is just the beginning of a whole range of location-based services that will open up new opportunities to marketers who want to influence local buying behavior.

Think about the possibilities. You could offer mobile coupons keyed to local stores, provide tools that allow consumers to comparison shop, and even allow consumers to interact with digital signage in store windows, using their phones to respond to ads submit messages or place orders. “Mobile will completely revolutionize the way local advertisers can connect with potential customers,” say Neumann and Mooney.

Applications

While branded applications will continue to be popular, Neumann and Mooney point out that the applications marketplace is already crowded. Marketers will need to find other ways to break through on the handset. The developing trend will be “in-app content” – the ability to develop ad-supported applications. Google is expected to be a big player – they acquired a mobile advertising network called AdMob and they’re “creating a competitive alternative business model for developers” to challenge the iPhone’s application superiority.

Social Media Integration

The cross-over of social media with mobile phones is a natural. The growth of Twitter, for example, has been driven by mobile tweeting. But the real future, according to Neumann and Mooney, is not just in consumers’ ability to interact with each other and offer feedback, but in how marketers react. “Smart marketers will do all they can to encourage and act on this real-time feedback. Whether brands carve out a dedicated mobile channel or simply rely on Twitter customer service, we’ll see more embracing the feedback loop.”

This is one bandwagon online marketers should be prepared to jump on in 2010.