Data on Mobile Internet Use

According to BIGresearch’s Simultaneous Media Usage Survey of over 22,000 consumers, the audience for mobile marketing is growing but that the audience is still relatively small. Demographically, consumers who like mobile marketing tend to be young men.

Key Characteristics of Mobile Marketing Users and Non-Users
	Mobile Marketing Users	Mobile Marketing Non-Users
Men	57.9%	46.2%
Women	42.1%	53.8%
Average Age	39.2	45.9
Online search triggered by cell phone	17.4%	2.4%
Communicate about search via cell phone	41.3%	26.3%
Download music/video to cell phone	33.3%	14.6%
Regularly Use Facebook	37.9%	27.8%
Regularly Use MySpace	23.2%	9.8%
Regularly Use Twitter	13.1%	3.5%
Source: BIGresearch, November 2009

More data on mobile marketing users:

• They are more likely than non-users to regularly give advice to others about products or services they have purchased
• They are more likely to regularly seek advice than non-users
• Their top triggers for online searches are magazines, coupons and cable TV
• After conducting online search, they are most likely to communicate about it with others via face-to-face, email and cell phone
• Both mobile marketing users and non-users go to iTunes.com, YouTube.com and LimeWire.com – in that order- most often to access or download video/music content
• They are more likely to visit Facebook, Myspace and Twitter “regularly,” vs. non-users.

Additionally, the percentage of people who don’t like mobile marketing has increased across the board since June 2008.

• 66.8% of overall respondents don’t like text ads (vs. 63.5% in 2008)
• 60.2% don’t like voicemail ads (vs. 56.8% in 2008)
• 59.6% don’t like video ads (vs. 56.1% in 2008)
• 58% of people think marketers need permission prior to sending an ad (vs. 55.6% in 2008)
• 52.1% think mobile ads are an invasion of privacy (vs. 49.5% in 2008).

TV vs Web: Fast and Faster

Mass media was the holy grail when I was working on my public relations degree. The ultimate goal was to get your message placed in the mass media.

Perhaps that’s why I find Jakob Nielsen’s comparision of communicating via TV versus the web so insightful and intriguing: http://www.useit.com/alertbox/media-velocity.html

The web makes television look like a slow media. And, is is even less of a medium of words. Yet, online communication provides a true opportunity to engage. The new holy grail for communicators is to leverage this opportunity.

Some great examples I have seen:

• Guiding Eyes for the Blind, new website integrates information for donors, puppy raisers and others interested in this organization.
• Balance Interactive, new website for my company that highlights what we do and results we have achieved for clients.
• Driveway2Driveway, Balance client that is a car selling service.
• Food Network, tons of recipes and lots of shows, and all easy to access.

Please share your examples of great websites that engage.

Facebook, YouTube Grow Market Share

New data on market share from BurrellesLuce in 2010 edition of “Top Media Outlets: Newspapers, Blogs, Consumer Magazines & Social Networks:

• Facebook has a 45.5 percent market share
• MySpace has a 20.3 percent market share
• YouTube is the only other social network with double-digit market share at 13.6 percent
• Three additional sites attained market share of at least 1.0 percent: Tagged (1.7), Yahoo! Answers (1.1) and Twitter (1.0).

This is the seventh year that BurrellesLuce has produced rankings of top media, which are based on research it conducts twice a year. The latest social network rankings reflect data reported by Hitwise as of Oct. 31, 2009; blog standings mirror Technorati’s Authority scores for Nov. 6, 2009; the newspaper figures are compiled by the Audit Bureau of Circulations (ABC) for the six-month period ending Sept. 30, 2009, and the magazine numbers are ABC’s for the six months ending June 30, 2009.