Content Usage Should Be a Key Driver of Your Show’s Mobile Strategy

Check out these new mobile content usage stats from a comScore July 8, 2010 press release, which are based on total U.S. mobile subscribers 13+ in the U.S.

During the three month average period ending May 2010:

(1) 65.2% sent text message to another phone
(2) 31.9% used browsers
(3) 30.0% used downloaded apps
(4) 22.5% played games
(5) 20.8% accessed a social networking site or blog
(6) 14.3% listened to music on mobile phone

All of these activities have increased from the previous reporting period, reflecting an ongoing trend of people using their mobile phones more and more for data vs. voice. The comScore stats provide excellent insights into how mobile content is being used at a macro level and evolving over time. As these data activities scale, they are providing new ways to connect with more people via mobile. In order for you to best leverage them, you need to understand how your show’s specific audiences are using mobile content, as there are significant variances across demographics.

For example, while apps are receiving a lot of play in the headlines today, if only a small portion of your target audiences use apps, the opportunities here will be limited for you. As such, too many dollars invested in apps will mean too few dollars invested in data activities which have much higher use in your marketplace thus reducing overall ROI on your marketing dollars.

Likewise, if you find your target audiences have high use of mobile browsers and notice a lot of people visiting your show Web site through mobile devices, then you will certainly want to invest dollars in mobile Web sites and improving the mobile browsing experience, or else risk losing potential attendees.

Posted on July 16, 2010