Previous posts in this series:
Mobile Marketing: Past, Present, and Future (Part 1)

Part 2: The Present

Take a quick look at some of the stats presented here, from a report that AdMob put together just over a year ago.

If you look at mobile internet usage today and assume that current growth will continue over the next 5 years, than mobile internet usage will surpass traditional desktop/laptop internet usage in 2015.

Smartphones and tablets are the way of the world. Consumers have spoken. And marketers had better start taking notice. Today’s marketers not only have an enormous opportunity in the mobile environment, but those of us that fail to realize that this is an important part of our ongoing marketing efforts will fall behind and get lost in the yesterday’s business world.

Take a look at how people use their smartphones.

1. Email: Marketers who use email as a regular part of their efforts must realize that as more and more people use their phone to check their email, both work and personal, than formatting your emails for mobile devices must move from being an afterthought to a priority. Design your email with mobile devices in mind first. Shorten them, get rid of unneeded images, start the subject line with the most important part, and make the landing page on any clickthrough easy to view on a mobile device as well.
   
   
2. Games and Apps: One of the most appealing aspects of the mobile internet trend to its users are the applications that have been developed to be used in conjunction with the various platforms (iOS, Android, etc.). And marketers have begun to take advantage of this appeal. Creating a mobile application is a great way to create interest in your brand, or to keep customers coming back for more. They’re already looking for ways to interact with you in the mobile world, so give it to them.
   
   
3. Internet: As these devices continue to become the preferred way consumers are, for lack of a better word, consuming the internet, it’s your job as a marketer to make sure that when they stumble across your site they are greeted with a mobile friendly look and feel. This post from Mashable is a good one highlighting the importance of mobile optimization.

In part 3 of this series I will discuss the future of mobile marketing and present some ideas that marketers can begin to explore.