Mobile Marketing 101

Like social media and the Internet, mobile marketing has its doubters. But the simple truth is that 160 of the 244 million mobile phone users in the United States have text plans. Of these, 54.5 million are mobile Internet users, though 172 million phones are capable of Internet usage. Plus, 27 million access social networks from their mobile phones.

Even though smart phones only comprise one-third of the mobile market, the bigger statistic for mobile marketing is that nearly half of all mobile phone users have a text plan.

SMS Marketing
SMS stands for short-message marketing and refers to text-message marketing. You've seen the ads, text "Vote" to a four-digit short code, such as 5252. however, you can also text promotions or updates. It is perhaps the most personal form of marketing, plus technology allows you to grab the phone number, name and other information when people voluntarily opt-in to a mobile marketing program.

Mobile-Ready Web Sites
During the summer, I heard a statistic in summer 2009 that only one percent of Web sites are mobile ready. Yet, the smart phone market continues to surge. While only comprising one-third of the overall market, smart phones - including iPhones, Blackberrys and Androids - are a growing marketshare with no halt in sight. However, it's not just smart phones that are capable of hosting Internet access. How does your Web site look on the mobile Web?

Mobile Applications
You can't hide from the almighty "app." There are more than 100,00 iphone applications. Add to this the many Blackberry and Google Android Applications. Plus, Windows Marketplace for Mobile is coming soon. Not everyone needs a mobile application, but it is something to think about. It is expected that smart phone users will comprise 50 percent of the mobile market in the next two to three years.

Mobile Networking
Social media is simply inescapable right now. The major social media tools all have applications for smart phones, so people regularly access these outlines through their mobile connection - sending updates, posting links, sharing photos. Part of the future of Public Relations and Networking is social media, especially mobile social applications. It's time to start perfecting your 160-character sound bites.