By Mike Baker, CEO of Enpocket

There’s never been a better time to launch a mobile marketing program. There’s a substantial audience of consumers using their mobile phones to send text messages, share pictures, surf the Web, download content and even watch TV. And this audience has shown an increasing willingness to engage with brand communications across these activities. Perhaps best of all, the medium is completely open and uncluttered because most brands are still trying to figure out how to plan campaigns in this burgeoning space. Savvy brands are seizing the opportunity. Here are some rules of the road to get your brand moving in mobile:

1. Provide real value. The mobile phone is your customer’s personal device and you need to respect it as such by ensuring the relevance and value of your brand communications. Why would someone invite your brand into their pocket? They won’t unless you offer them something entertaining or informative. A beverage brand with sports sponsorships might offer downloadable pictures of stars; a maker of allergy medication might offer localized daily pollen count alerts; a consumer bank might offer customizable text alerts about activity in your bank account; a hotel might offer guests confirmations sent to their phone for easy reference at check in; a movie rental store alerts on newly available titles, and so on. Think of conveying your brand as a service to consumers’ personal device.

Did you know there are now more mobile phones in the UK than there are people? Mobiles have become heavily engrained into everyday life and there are few people who don’t use them on a regular basis.

Text messaging has been the runaway success of the mobile phone and increasingly people are now using their devices for more diverse communication such as picture sharing, browsing and downloading from the Internet, video calls and watching TV. The potential reach and scope of mobile marketing is astonishing, but at the moment most companies are still only dipping their toes into this potential gold mine.

So let's look at the basics...

1. Integrate

Mobile marketing is not a standalone tool…yet. The key to successful mobile marketing at the moment is integration, using mobile media alongside other elements to spark further interest. Mobile marketing can offer the perfect facility to drive consumer interest beyond passive viewing, into interacting with the brand.

Kenya- Safaricom, Kenya’s biggest cell phone firm, on Tuesday launched a money transfer service that will use short message services, which it said was the first of its kind in the world. Reuters reports.
“The product allows its 5.8 million subscribers to use their cell phones to send money in the east African country where it is commonplace for one family member working in the city to support a whole family living in rural areas.
Kenyans will deposit or access the money through Safaricom agents like supermarkets or shops situated all over the country.
Kenya’s Minister for Communication, Mutahi Kagwe, highlighted the opportunity for remote communities: “This will help people in far-flung parts of the country who have no banking services, now anyone can have a bank in their pocket.”
source: ipsh.net

Caribbean Relevance. Now can u imagine this in our very large and lucrative money remittance market. Ahhh so many opportunities here.

China Mobile, the world’s largest operator, added 4.86 million subscribers during January to bring its customer totals to 306.1 million. There is still room to grow. About 65% of the population in the country is still believed to be up for grabs.
source: ipsh.net

Great food and technology help drive my businesses.
As a tech entrepreneur whose office is a Macbook plus two phones, one Digicel and a My Virtual Office phone that works locally and on which my Miami and Atlanta numbers ring, WiFi (wireless internet) is crucial.whether at home, in the small office or wherever I decide to work from that day. The fact is where I have breakfast, and lunch especially, tends to be heavily influenced by where has free and consistent wifi (wireless internet) and of course good food. I seldom have time or inclination to cook anymore.