• by Aaron Baar , July 31, 2012

Everyone’s talking about mobile strategy, and they have been for years. But if marketers haven’t moved toward figuring out how to adapt those strategies to the smartphone and mobile platform, they risk being left behind by consumers.

According to the June 2012 Mobile Content Study conducted by Frank N. Magid Associates, smartphones have become the dominant platform for American consumers, with 58% of all Americans using them, and more than three-quarters of people under 44. By mid-2013, the smartphone audience is expected to increase 53% from 99 million users to 151 million users. 

What that means, according to Tom Godfrey, executive director of mobile strategy at the consulting firm, is that even more consumers will be accessing online content through mobile devices, and marketers need to take such behavior into account as they develop Web- and mobile-based marketing programs.

“Consumers have clearly made the jump to mobile devices, and publishers and marketers need to be sure their strategy has to be optimized to smartphones and tablets,” Godfrey tells Marketing Daily. “The majority of web traffic is going to be accessed through a mobile device in the next 12 to 18 months, and what publishers and marketers design has to work through those devices.”

Despite the increasing use of mobile devices, marketers and publishers need to be careful how they are deploying their tools, Godfrey says. Apps get a lot of attention, but the survey revealed consumers were divided about how they preferred to access content from their smartphones and tablets. According to Godfrey, more consumers said they had no preference for Web- or app-based access than those who said they preferred one over the other. 

“For all the focus and ink that’s been spilled for apps, for marketers and e-commerce, the mobile Web continues to have a lot of strength,” Godfrey says. “It remains extraordinarily important for marketers and publishers to establish a presence in both the app and Web world.”