Independent Thinking Blog

The Surprising Truth About Mobile

Digital is changing the way we interact with the world.

Here are a few facts about how my digital behavior has shifted in just the last 12 months:

  • Reading the newspaper on my Kindle (goodbye print).
  • Shifting magazine subscriptions to my tablet.
  • Streaming music at the gym or listening to downloaded playlists (goodbye iPod).
  • Texting the pharmacy to refill prescriptions.
  • Searching on my smartphone for coupons.

But don’t take my digital behavior as a guide. Think about how the way you read, see, do things has shifted from 10, five, and even one year ago today.

Mobile is changing the way we do digital.

In fact, mobile is rapidly overtaking desktop as the number one way we access, manage, and interact with everything from maps to music to our social networks. Recent comScore data shows just how fast that shift is happening:

Graphic of Shift from Desktop to Mobile Use

Mobile is changing the way we consume digital content.

In addition, comScore reported that total mobile engagement on social has grow 55 percent and that social networking on mobile has accounted for 31 percent of all growth in Internet engagement in the past year.

You can’t have an analog business in a digital world.

Jamie Turner of 60 Second Communications said during a MarketingProfs webinar that 70 percent of consumers who search via mobile complete the task within one hour (versus 30 percent for desktop searches).

In other words, most mobile searchers go on to take immediate action. Buy your product. Shop in your store. Eat at your restaurant. Which means that, at the most basic level, your Web site better be mobile-friendly.

Turner discussed a number of mobile marketing tools, including SMS, location-based marketing, mobile display ads, and apps. I’ll look at a few of these in a future post. While not all of them are likely right for your business and your budget, one thing is clear: most businesses ignore mobile at their peril.

Photo by FutureAtlas.com.

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