Feature Friday: Musing about Mobile Networking

The following is a feature article by Rob the Web Guy.

Just before the end of last year, my email box was inundated by newsletters filled with articles & posts like “The Top 50 Facebook Posts of 2010” and “Top 20 Most Useful Twitter Blog Posts of 2010.” I was really excited to download and read these during my Christmas vacation, hoping I would learn some valuable information on something I may have missed last year. When I was done, I was thoroughly disappointed. They all seemed to be obsessed with ‘pimping out’ their Facebook and/or Twitter page.

Here’s my problem: No one touched on the fact that most users access these social networks with their mobile devices!

Across multiple pages, I asked a simple question: “Do you use Facebook more on your phone or on the computer?” Almost 80% said their phone! Here’s one example of responses.

Yes, custom tabs, apps & landing pages are very cool.

Yes, if you are running ads, point them to a specific page.

Yes, a lot of people are online using browsers.

But guess what folks? No one can see your pretty landing page or your Involver tab on his or her phone (at least for now, with the app.) So, while you spent all that time making a really cool background for your Twitter page, you missed out on more important things.

I always ask people to go to different Facebook pages I manage from their phones.

I want to see how it shows up under real-life conditions. I know there is software to emulate different models, but people have old software, old apps, and old phones. I want to ensure the important information is visible. I constantly see pages that have dropped the ball.

Below is an example of what I’m talking about. I took a screen shot on my iPhone. On the left, Mojo In The Morning has all the information you need to stay connected. I thought YouTube with their almost 26 million ‘Likes’ would be on top of this. I thought wrong. Really? The URL is missing? C’mon!

Without having to know anything about graphic design, HTML, or FBML; and without paying for third-party applications, you too can have pertinent information on your Facebook page!

And this doesn’t apply for just Facebook pages. What about your personal profile pages on other social networking sites? Are you displaying your own website or Twitter URL on your Flickr, Twitter, or LinkedIn page? What if you’re looking for a job? Make sure your URL appears on the mobile platform and adjust if necessary.

Don’t waste your time with a fancy background displaying your website, AIM, Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube, etc. but instead put that information in the website & bio/about fields.

Another thing I’ve learned is that no one reads Facebook Fan Page updates.

I sent a message out to two pages with a combined fan base of 130,000. Titled “We Need Your Help” I asked people to click a bit.ly link to let us know if they read the message; that we want to create the best Facebook experience possible and if we post stuff here will you ever see it.

Within a two-week period, only 322 people clicked the link. Without insights from Facebook, this was the best I could come up with for tracking its success. Any better suggestions?

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Thanks for reading Feature Friday: Musing about Mobile Networking, the latest article from my blog on the social web.

I also write a blog from my city council desk.

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