Forrester urges firms to go mobile

Internet-enabled mobile devices offer consumers a 24x7 digital life, says Forrester

Firms were urged today to transform their mobile internet strategies to capitalise on changing user behaviours and the opportunities offered by social computing in the mobile sphere.

In a new report from analyst Forrester entitled How Mobile Handsets Will Deliver 24x7 Social Computing, analyst Ian Fogg argues that social computing is becoming incredibly popular on mobile because it "is a natural extension of a phone’s raison d’ être – communication".

As such, firms should look at this as the platform on which to build their mobile strategies. The mobile internet, he adds, is able to offer consumers a " 24x7 digital life" that the fixed internet cannot, because of the always-on nature of phones and other features such as GPS navigation, touch-screens and cameras with photo and video recording.

"People are becoming connected 24x7 through their internet phones and that must transform the strategies that firms adopt," wrote Fogg on the accompanying Forrester blog entry.

"Mobile enables a 24x7 relationship between brands and consumers. Mobile enables people to interact with web sites 24x7, both to consume – read and browse – and to contribute. Mobile opens up new business models through the fusion of location awareness and a 24x7 internet-connected device."

The report argued that brand owners, handset manufacturers, social computing firms and mobile operators all have the opportunities to improve their strategies in the mobile internet space.

For the big name brand owners the report encouraged the rolling out of loyalty schemes, viral marketing and social media strategies to help build up a 24x7 picture of consumers.

"Mobile offers the potential to connect the digital dots from the part-time PC internet out into the analogue world," said Fogg.

"Such brands will become natural partners for mobile players and social networks as those firms develop their 24x7 strategies."