Social Networking Sites Are Most Popular Mobile Applications

According to comScore's MobiLens study, the total number of mobile app users in the United States grew by 28% from April of 2009 to April 2010. The most sought after mobile application in this lucrative industry has proven to be the social networking apps, having increased their user base by 240% in the last year to over 14.5 million mobile users.

Top social network, Facebook, has beaten out Google Maps, The Weather Channel, and ESPN as the most widely used mobile app for owners of Blackberrys, iPhones, and other smartphones. Social networking sites also boasted over 30 million mobile users visiting sites through mobile browsers.

Other mobile applications that have grown by over one-hundred percent between April 2009 and April 2010 are:
*Weather - 111%
*News - 124%
*Sports Information - 113%
*Bank accounts - 113%

As smartphone usage grows, the demand for more sophisticated mobile content increases. Mobile applications are no trend, they are the future.

Regardless of what kind of brand you are, it's important to have an apps strategy as part of an overall mobile marketing strategy. Imagine that there is a device in the pocket of nearly every American that you can advertise to. Who would want to miss out on such an opportunity?

The important thing is to provide something of value to the consumer. There are tons of free apps on the market and many simply don't provide any value. Hence, even know they are free, once they are downloaded, they are never used again. In fact, some studies show that nearly 80% of downloaded apps are never used after the first day!

A mobile app has to have value--value that increases over time. It needs to be something that will add value to your reader months and years after the initial download. This means updating the app and providing valuable information that may be charged for elsewhere.

Remember, your brand is now a walking billboard in the consumer's pocket. Getting into their mobile device is difficult enough so once you are there, you want to stay there, even if the only value is increased brand recognition.