Marketers Need New Mobile Social Media Mindset; Motorola’s Devices Could Have More Impact Than We Think
Forty percent of all tweets are created on mobile devices. Surely, that’s a data point that shows the convergence of social media and mobile.
And then there are the statements made by Twitter CEO Dick Costolo at the close of the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) last week in Las Vegas. He revealed that 25 percent of tweets were via wireless devices in 2010. Moreover, he told the audience that 50 percent of active Twitter users are also active on mobile.
(This dovetails with the activity Facebook is also seeing on mobile. There, users are spending approximately an equal amount of time on Facebook on their PCs and on their mobile phones.)
Costolo’s numbers are especially interesting to marketers stepping up investments in social media. But I have to question the wisdom of marketers keeping their efforts (and investments) in social media marketing and mobile marketing in separate silos. After all, social (connecting with our networks on the move) continually tops the list of activities we do most on our mobile devices.
But before I point out the faults of this silo mentality, allow me to say that Twitter’s own business model is marching toward more monetization.
As Costolo put it: “We’re a technology company that’s in the media business. Our business model is an advertising model. So we’re selling ads, and we’re letting people promote their accounts. And we really don’t have to do anything else. Our engagement rates on these ads are ridiculously high. When we saw our stats this last spring when we launched, the numbers were so big we thought we were measuring it incorrectly.”
HOW I SEE IT: The attraction of social networking comes in the connectedness it provides us and in the ability to stay connected to friends wherever and whenever. Users are way ahead of marketers in understanding that there is no meaningful difference in how they connect. So why are there marketing silos? First, this approach splits marketers into two camps (social and mobile) with fierce defenders who are convinced that their focus is the right one. (Why can there be only one?) Second, it ignores that fact that there are limited marketing dollars. So splitting budgets between social and mobile (viewing it as a case of “either/or”) is not beneficial to agencies or brands. Put another way, it’s a huge mistake to not follow consumers on their journey and understand that for them there is no line separating social and mobile. We need to realize this and use it in campaigns. The marketers who figure out how to use social and mobile in complementary ways will be the biggest winners of 2011.
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The most interesting (perhaps the only) news coming out of the Verizon/ Apple press conference on Tuesday is the massive boost to our personal connectivity. Specifically, the new CDMA iPhone 4 will act as a mobile WiFi connection for up to five devices . Other phones on the market have that capability already, but some believe that the inclusion of this feature on a Verizon iPhone will bring the concept of a personal hotspot to the masses.
So how big is this opportunity really?
According to Ericsson, mobile broadband will reach one billion users in 2011. Ericsson expects Asia to drive the spike in users, followed closely by North America and Europe. By 2015, Ericsson estimates that there will be 3.8 billion broadband subscriptions.
HOW I SEE IT: You can (with good reason) argue that nearly everyone will want to be connected everywhere they go. However, there is another argument to consider. People want that connectivity, but they want it in the form of one connected device – part-mobile, part-computer (more on that in the item below). If this is the case, then there will be relatively little appeal in offering the option to connect multiple devices. But what about the many potentially lucrative use cases in-between? I see this breaking down into segments. If operators make it affordable (like Virgin Mobile has in the U.S. with its daily plans plus industry-low monthly charges), then teenagers and folks in their 20s are all over a flexible option to connect music players, computes, mobile phones and tablets. And the traveling business crowd is always in search of connectivity — so give it to them in a way that makes sense (aligned with their connectivity requirements). As for me, I purchased a Virgin Mobile mifi device late last year. I get unlimited data and connectively on up to five devices for $40 a month. I moved ahead with this purchase because it came with a month-to-month contract. It’s a perfect offer for lots of people (like me) who aren’t ready to make a long-term bet. Flexibility is king here.
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Few people would have predicted that Motorola would be in the same sentence as “Best of CES 2011.” But it happened.
Motorola — the company that had risen to new heights with the Razr only to lose its lead to BlackBerry and Apple — had a week in Las Vegas only a lucky gambling high-roller could match.
In voting by the editors and reporters of CNET, Motorola won the “Best of CES” award for its Motorola XOOM – dubbed as the first device on Google’s new Android 3.0 Honeycomb operating system designed from the ground up for tablets. In addition to “Best of CES” award, Motorola received two other award honors – “Best Smartphone” for the Motorola ATRIX and “Best Tablet” for the Motorola XOOM.
By way of background, Motorola XOOM has a dual core processor, and an HD optimized 10.1-inch widescreen. Motorola ATRIX 4G was presented as the most powerful mobile phone available. Its webtop application runs a full Mozilla Firefox 3.6 and uniquely docks with computers and keyboards.
HOW I SEE IT: Of course, this isn’t the first time that we’ve seen Motorola receives accolades for its innovation. Wikipedia tells us that, over the RAZR’s four-year run, Motorola sold more than 110 million units, boosting its position to second place in the handheld market behind Nokia. Was it an iconic device? You bet. PC World put the RAZR at #12 in The 50 Greatest Gadgets of the Past 50 Years. Now Motorola is considered an also-ran with just 17 percent share in the U.S. market and no dominance elsewhere. As marketers, we need to be ready to adapt. And we must remember that it isn’t over until it’s over. Success comes with innovation coupled with sought-after consumer benefits and backed by great marketing and the right pricing. If those elements are indeed present in devices like the XOOM, then down go the pundits who have written off Motorola forever.
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A career author and sought-after speaker, Jeff Hasen builds, strengthens and protects brands. Companies benefiting from his talents have landed on Wired’s list of most innovative entities on Earth and been named pioneers and the early leader in the burgeoning mobile marketing category. Jeff co-created the certification program for the Mobile Marketing Association (MMA). He is one of only two individuals certified by the MMA to train professionals and students on mobile marketing definitions, techniques and benefits. At Hipcricket, he conceived and led the execution of an accelerated rebranding effort in advance of the mobile marketing software and services company being named “the early leader in the mobile marketing space in the U.S.” by Frost and Sullivan. Hipcricket also won consecutive annual pioneer awards from CTIA — The Wireless Association. Follow Jeff on Twitter (@jeffhasen).
