Every year, for the past 3 or 4 years, someone proclaims the next twelve months will usher in a new era for mobile marketing… but it never happens. Despite the fact that mobile is one of the most widely adopted consumer technologies in the world, 2010 may once again not be the year of mobile.
However, I’d suggest that smart brands who want to stay ahead of the curve will notice that the mobile revolution has reached a crossroads, and it’s being driven by Facebook.
Just today, Facebook announced that 1/4 of their monthly worldwide visits or 65 million visits, are via mobile. You heard me right… Facebook has twice as many mobile visits as Twitter has overall visits, and this number has tripled since December of last year!
We will continue to see these numbers rise, and with Facebook’s release this week of the new Facebook iPhone App. Here are some of the new additions, and what they might mean for your brand:
1.) Mobile Access to Brand Pages
The Facebook Page is turning into a truly versatile platform. They are already functioning for many advertisers as microsites, since custom tabs can be created and linked to directly. With the launch of mobile access to Facebook Pages, is this a stand-in for a mobile website?
2.) Favorite People… and Pages
Another new feature introduced in the latest version of the Facebook iPhone Application is the ability to create a “favorites” page for friends you most often interact with, or pages that you visit most often. This is another great testament to the power of the Facebook Brand Fan Page, that someone might include a brand amongst their friends. This is also a rare opportunity, since Facebook has mostly kept user “profiles” and brand “pages” separate.
3.) Mobile Chat
This may be on the of the most powerful new features offered on the Facebook iPhone App, and one that makes the most sense for a mobile device.
The use of mobile phones for voice calls is dwindling and text messaging is on the rise. Text messaging is already being replaced for some due to the tough economic times. In fact, many consumers are turning towards mobile instant messaging platforms to replace text messages, particularly if they don’t have an unlimited plan. So the question becomes, will consumers at some point choose to chat via Facebook rather than sending a text message? Or perhaps Facebook will allow brands to eventually chat with fans.
It’s easy to see that Facebook is becoming much more than a destination, and much more than a social network. 2010 may not be the year of mobile, but it will certainly be the year that marketers see how important mobile has become to the users of one of the most powerful platforms online…
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