iPhone, Chipmunking, gPhone and SMS – What Do They All Have in Common?

Attention all social marketing mavens, consider the question above very carefully… For it has tremendous import into the future of your success or, if you'd rather… the success of your future.

Background

iPhone
Do I even need to explain… Apple's revolutionary cell phone. Buy an iPhone today!!!

Chipmunking
Notice the image to the right. Does this look like you or perhaps your friend or child as they feverishly focus in on their little phone or PDA, completing more text messages that breaths? Like a chipmunk with a little nut we hunch over our precious device and tap out little messages. That's what you call chipmunking. (Warning: Please do not do an image search for this term with the Safe Filter off…trust me!)

Gphone
Google has announced that they too (surprise) will be offering an iPhone-like cell phone. But, of course, there is a twist. In exchange for low cost (maybe free) bandwith access to rich media (audio and video) the Gphone will automatically show those beloved ads Google is famous for.

SMS
According to Wikipedia:

Short Message Service (SMS) is a communications protocol allowing the interchange of short messages between mobile telephony devices. The SMS technology has facilitated the development and growth of text messaging. The connection between the phenomenon of text messaging and the underlying technology is so great that in parts of the world the term "SMS" is used colloquially as a synonym for a text message from another person or the act of sending a text message.

What Do They All Have In Common?

So what happens when you combine (a) one of the biggest product revolutions since the computer (b) a strange addiction that turns normal people into rodent-like fidgeters (c) an impending pandemonium for free mobile access and instant rich media fixations (d) a technology that has been adopted by all the big names to deliver information to your mobile?

One of the biggest opportunities for connecting with your prospect since the advent of email.

Think about it… Think about your own behavior.

When you find a resource, something that is, as they say, "speaking to the conversation in your head", what do you do?

Well, if you are like most people, you want to connect with that resource and absorb as much information from it as you can.

If your resource-of-the-day was available in a nice mobile content stream, do you think you might get into the habit of browsing it say… in line at the super-mart, waiting for the greasy-handed oil change dude, sitting in the dressing room "waiting area" as your wife tried on hundreds of clothes, or at one of those boring staff meetings where the manager repeats the corporate mantra for 30 minutes.

I think you would…

Consider this too. We are all being conditioned to having access to what we want, when we want it, and how we want it. This includes the information we choose to consume and the communities we choose to participate in.

As SMS and the the new versions of iPhone, gPhone (and probably the Yphone -think:Yahoo!- is not far behind) bring us all closer to the content and communities we crave, your opportunity as a social marketer increases. This technology will unchain you from the clunky desktop (or laptop) and put you right into the pocket of your most targeted customer.

The Downside of Mobile Social Marketing

If you are your own reluctant webmaster then incorporating SMS technology into your website (or blog) is a bit technical. However, it is possible for you folks who may have went a little gray installing and configuring WordPress to figure it out. (Video coming soon)

Fortunately, I recently came across a great new service which makes installing a customizable moble subscription option on your site much easier than you would think. The service is called FeedM8 and it is actually a breeze to set up and manage, compared to the two other services I have looked into.

The Future of Your Success

So go ahead, don't wait for the masses of other bloggers to jump on the SMS bandwagon. Add your mobile subscription code and be one of the fast movers that see the social marketing opportunity before it's tail hits you in the face.

Oh yeah…and don't forget to sign up to the mobile version of Web2Center to see the FeedM8 service in action.