In-Stat: Millenials are socially mobile

Mobile-social marketers take note: according to a recent In-Stat report, the millenial generation is increasingly mobile. The report indicates that millenials are increasingly logging on to mobile social platforms.

by Kristina Knight

"The critical issue most mobile social networking site and application developers struggle with is how to make money with their services," says Jill Meyers, In-Stat analyst. "There are three primary methods of revenue generation for mobile social networking applications- advertising, subscription services, and premium upgrades."

But first, marketers need to know which social platforms are most interesting. According to the report, millenials are most interested in blogging and photo sharing. They are also interested in games, SMS and IM platforms.

This year, social marketing is expected to account for $1.5 billion in marketing revenue. The report forecasts that nearly 230 million mobile consumers could be using mobile social networks by 2012.

What is pushing all of these users to the mobile space? In addition to being able to contact friends and family from any place at any time, many experts believe the introduction of the iPhone in 2007 has pushed many more users into the mobile space. The phones have made it simple to connect via mobiles. The detriment to mobile so far has been the lack of content and the service plans available.

Many experts agree that as the content and service plans become more user friendly, even more consumers will log on.