We are only weeks into 2011 but it is crystal clear that this year is shaping up to be the year of the mobile Web.
New research
conducted by video traffic management firm Bytemobile has uncovered some surprising data savvy marketers need to be aware of.
Bytemobile has found that in 2011, 60 percent of all traffic on mobile Web devices will be for video. The study also shows that 10 percent of mobile Web users account for 90 percent of mobile Web traffic. This staggering fact means that a relatively small group of mobile Internet users are doing the vast majority of mobile bandwidth consumption.
This data highlights some critical elements in the evolution of the mobile Web. Streaming or downloading large video files over a wireless network can put a major strain on the network and impact performance for users. According to the Telegraph , many wireless data service providers cannot keep up with the demand of consumers. Companies like T-Mobile are, in turn, increasing prices and lowering the amount of mobile bandwidth included in each package.
Marketing Takeaway
This data offers important lessons for savvy marketers, the first being that mobile Internet users are looking to be entertained on the go. With video being such a large source of mobile Web traffic, it is likely that Netflix, iTunes and YouTube represent a large portion of that 60 percent. As a marketer, you should be sharing your video in a mobile-friendly player that uses HTML5 instead of Adobe’s Flash. If you are trying to market on the mobile Web, you need to consider the importance of entertaining and quality content that can be consumed on mobile devices.
With indications that mobile bandwidth cost may be on the rise, it is important for marketers to develop lightweight ways to engage mobile users. Don’t ask a user to stream a 10-minute video. Instead, provide a clean text summary of the video if they are using a cellular data connection. Give them an opportunity to watch the video if they are on a WiFi connection, in an effort to help them conserve mobile bandwidth.
Does this new mobile web data surprise you?
Photo Credit:
l-i-n-k
Inbound Marketing Blog Feed
Jason Keath 8:24 AM on January 19, 2011
Keep in mind they are talking "data usage" here and not "time usage". Reading text articles could still be the most common use of mobile internet users, or Facebook (more likely). Video just takes a hell of a lot of data. What would be more useful is the comparison between what percentage of web data video takes up on mobile vs non-mobile consumption. This would give us better consumer behavior insite.
Kipp Bodnar 9:16 AM on January 19, 2011
Jason,
You are correct. But data usage does impact bandwidth costs for future customers and could impact overall mobile web adoption.
Thank you,
Kipp
Toby Russell 9:26 AM on January 19, 2011
Ok yep I understand its data usage, its still huge numbers and information we all need to take on board
Adam 9:51 AM on January 19, 2011
Does this information take into account Netflix usage? From what I understand, Netflix eats up a HUGE majority of traditional web traffic and the same must be true for mobile traffic.
If the 60% number includes Netflix, then I don't think this stat is all that huge. Unless there became some way for marketers to reach Netflix viewers, which I don't believe there currently is a way to reach them.
Marcy Mitchell 9:52 AM on January 19, 2011
Question...will all mobile phones display YouTube videos that are embedded on your web site? Blackberry does not do this, but I was wondering if the iphone and droid does? Many small businesses do not want to host videos on their own server and love the convenience of Youtube and vimeo embedded videos...
John Black 10:03 AM on January 19, 2011
I'm really starting to lose respect for Hubspot here. Once again, another attention-getting post that, after actually reading it, is either already common knowledge or downright misleading. Are you all just blogging for the sake of traffic and not for your readers?
MM> will all mobile phones display YouTube videos that are embedded on your web site?
Marcy, this depends on how the site works, not how the phone works. YouTube has code in place to automatically select not only the file that is served, but even the UX of the previous page that launches the file, so that each device is accounted for and receives the streaming video in the way that is most native to that device.
Scott 10:05 AM on January 19, 2011
Is it irresponsible blogging to confuse traffic and bandwidth consumption?
Greg Ackerman 6:10 PM on January 19, 2011
Not surprised by the assertion that video views on mobile devices will dominate the online market in the coming year. YouTube and site analytics for our forward facing sites and client sites are consistently on the rise regarding mobile views. We're seeing similar stats on targeted email campaigns.
I expect this trend to continue.
The fact that CES attendees saw nearly every hardware manufacturer introduce tablet devices this year to compete with iPad means even more folks will be clamoring to watch services like netflix with those devices. Already, streaming movie services account for nearly 45% of peak online traffic stateside. That's not going to decrease as users migrate to on demand platforms and away from cable and satellite services.
Jay Wilder 12:10 AM on January 20, 2011
Btw good companion read from this week - YouTube announces mobile views up 300% YOY: http://rww.to/ihDeWg
Data = cost, as you mentioned Kipp. For enterprises, consider all of those 2GB plans and overages. That's a challenge that will spur competition on the video service provider side.
There's 2 more challenges to contend with: 1) creating enough video content to keep up with audiences that are consuming 3x more video on mobile, and 2) OS' differences and video formats. On the 2nd point, the video providers are aiming to take care of this for you. I touched on these last week after CES: http://bit.ly/gqFajB
Sean 12:04 PM on January 25, 2011
I think it would have been better to focus on the takeaway that video needs to play a larger part in inbound marketing strategies rather than focus on the logistics of bandwidth consumption.
Still something for those in marketing to consider.