Five smart strategies

I found this a striking finding in a new survey. I wonder if it's the clunky hardware/technology of mobile telephony or it's just lifestyle:

Mobile multimedia usage was the one area that lacked strong penetration--even with connected consumers--as the majority (64%) said they never used their mobile phone to "check weather, news or sports headlines." Similarly, 76% never used mobile to watch video, 68% said the same for listening to music, and 58% had never used their phone to check email. Some 53% of connected consumers, however, had used their phones to take photos and then share them on the Web.

That graph was from a MediaPost story on a newly released study done for Avenue A | Razorfish. It was of "connected consumers," people that use social media sites, have broadband, are over 20 and have dropped a couple hundred bucks online in the last year.

Most mobile news and information content is one-way: pushed to the consumer, while the Web 2.0 world, which this survey was studying, is about engaging or creating a relationship with the user. What these respondents had done is used their mobile phones to create media (photographs). Yeah, the iPhone may be a game changer, but it's not the mobile Web; it's the real web gone mobile.

Other findings: Video is big with this group (95 percent watch it online) and blogging (78 percent read them; 41 percent blogged) and news content (91 percent rely on the Web to get current news or information) and, despite sounded like the acronym of an obscure government agency, 53 percent are using RSS.

Even more telling for this group was the amount of media they are creating rather than consuming on the Web:

• 49% have uploaded a video in the past 3 months.
• 41% write or post to blogs
• 53% share bookmarks with others through services like del.icio.us
• 41% use photo-sharing sites such as Flickr

The details of the "Digital Consumer Behavior Study" (creative with naming aren't they) are at the Digital Design Blog of Avenue A | Razorfish.

The study has some really smart advice:

1. Make Content Portable – Ride the personalization wave by making your content portable. RSS offers a great means for users to subscribe to your content and get frequent updates. Widgets enable consumers to have deeper and richer experiences with a Web site’s features and functions anywhere.
2. Enable Consumer Ratings and Reviews – Ensure that consumers can contribute and access peer reviews. Retailers should enable consumers to rate and review products. Publishers should allow “commenting” whenever possible.
3. Invest in Online Video – Online video is the next great growth wave in the industry. Make sure all video assets become digitized and integrated with existing content and services. Look for near-term advances in video advertising to help monetize the effort.
4. Think Beyond the Web site – Your Web site plays a much less central role in today’s consumer Web experience. Think about how search, advertising, social media sites and the blogsphere are related to your digital marketing efforts and invest appropriately.
5. Take Small Steps with Mobile – Mobile data usage is still nascent. Take a measured approach to investing and keep an eye on Apple’s iPhone for near-term breakthroughs.

Those are definitely five good things to have at the top of your goals list. The home page as a starting point or an end point destination is becoming a much less meaningful goal in interacting and engaging with an audience.