[November 17, 2009] Mobile Social Networks: Marketing by Location Shows Potential - US Mobile Social Networkers to Total 56.2 Million by 2013 Tweet (M2 PressWIRE Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) Dublin - Research and Markets (http://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/a9c5bd/mobile_social_netw) has announced the addition of eMarketer's new report "Mobile Social Networks: Marketing by Location Shows Potential" to their offering. Social networking is one of the fastest-growing activities among mobile users domestically and around the world. As one of the primary ways mobile users communicate with one another, social networking the exchange and discussion of information, content and media on shared communities such as Facebook, MocoSpace and foursquare is proving a significant driver of Internet usage on mobile devices. Yet, as impressive as the growth is, gaining a voice in the conversations taking place across mobile social networks will be challenging for marketers. Most marketers are thinking through key issues, such as internal ownership and scalability of mobile-social programs. Budgeting and definitions of ROI likewise continue to evolve. In addition, dedicated mobile-social ad inventory remains limited. The biggest near-term opportunities will come from location-aware applications, services and offers, which provide value in the form of contextual relevance and which are increasingly popular among smartphone owners. The analyst predicts the number of mobile users accessing social networks from their mobile devices will reach 607.5 million worldwide by 2013, representing 43% of global mobile Internet users. In the US, mobile social networkers will total 56.2 million by 2013, accounting for 45% of the mobile Internet user population. Yet, as impressive as these numbers are, gaining a voice in the conversations taking place across mobile social networks will prove challenging for marketers. Both mobile and social still constitute emerging channels. As such, most marketers are in the process of sorting out key issues, notably internal ownership and scalability of mobile-social programs. Budgeting and definitions of ROI likewise continue to evolve. In addition, dedicated mobile-social ad inventory remains limited.The biggest near-term opportunities will come from location-aware applications, services and offers, which provide value in the form of contextual relevance and which are increasingly popular among smartphone owners. Key Questions - Who are the mobile social networkers? - Are consumers interacting with brands on mobile social networks? - What is the outlook for location-based services? - Is there an opportunity for marketers to use social networks to reach mobile consumers? Key Topics Covered: - Executive Summary - Key Questions - The Emarketer View - Mobile Social Media Landscape - The Big Three - Location-Based Services - Spending Outlook - Key Trends: Mobile Social Networkers - Demographics - Devices - Usage - Advertising And Marketing Outlook - Conclusions - Endnotes Companies Mentioned: - 1020 Placecast - ABI Research - Brightkite, Inc. (formerly Limbo) - Citi Investment Research - comScore Inc. - Crowd Science, Inc. - eMarketer - Frost & Sullivan - Gartner - GfK NOP - Harris Interactive - IDATE - IE Market Research Corp. - Informa Telecoms & Media - InsightExpress - International Data Corporation (IDC) - International Telecommunication Union (ITU) - Mixi - Nielsen Mobile - Nielsen Online - Retrevo - Skyhook Wireless Inc. - Sprint - The Nielsen Company For more information visit http://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/a9c5bd/mobile_social_netw ((Comments on this story may be sent to [email protected])) (c) 2009 M2 COMMUNICATIONS [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]