By Niclas Hulting

We used to think the earth was flat.
Boy, were we wrong.
We used to think PCs would never be something for the masses.
Boy, were we wrong.
We used to think we would never need a mobile phone.
Boy, were we wrong.

What is arguably the biggest change in buyer behavior and lifestyle (in history) is taking place. Our purchase, research, reading, communication and lifestyle habits are changing.

Yet most businesses think it’s a fad.

Half of the 13–29 segment goes online only, or mostly, on their mobile phone.

Boy, are they wrong.

Is your company ready? The revolution is here. If you blink, the revolution will have passed.

The book Content Strategy for Mobile, by Karen McGrane, makes the importance of mobile clear. But it’s a book that focuses on the methodology and strategy of harnessing mobile’s structured, adaptable microcontent, while McGrane’s “The Mobile Content Mandate” (conference talk and subsequent blog) makes you rethink everything. It makes you think about mobile, mobile and then some more mobile.

The book is part of the popular A Book Apart, a publisher that says, “We cover the emerging and essential topics in web design and development with style, clarity, and, above all, brevity — because working designer-developers can’t afford to waste time.” Its tagline reads, “Brief books for people who make websites.”

Their books are jam-packed with stats, use cases, information, tactics and strategy, and expert knowledge, all in convenient, bite-size packaging. They’re like delicious, healthy brain snacks.

Content Strategy for Mobile is a strategic blueprint (nay, manifesto) that repetitively hits us over the head with the fact that we’re missing the point. We’re refusing to see the importance of something that progresses the human interaction and communication experience. We’re not seeing the opportunity. We’re not seeing it from the users’ standpoint — the consumers’ standpoint.

A mobile emphasis addresses these things.

Meanwhile, we’re covering our ears and going NOPE, NOPE, NOPE, NOPE! So we don’t have to make our head-skull-brains think.

Why should I care about mobile? How does it affect me and my company?

The divide between mobile-device ownership and Internet accessibility (at home) is a gap that is growing. Broadband and Internet access is considered a luxury item for many African-Americans, Hispanics and low-income Americans. The “digital divide” is real and not just in developing countries.

What this means is that not all Americans have Internet access in their homes; however, most have a mobile device with Internet access.

Don’t believe me yet? Try these stats (from Pew Research Internet Project, Digiday, Search Engine Land and IDC):

• By 2015, more Americans will access the Internet on mobile rather than desktop.
• 90 percent of American adults have mobile phones.
• 58 percent of Americans adults have smartphones.
• As of April 2012, 35 percent of Americans had no Internet access at home.
• 60 percent of Americans who make less than $60k/year don’t have a broadband connection.
• Approximately half of African-American and Hispanic households don’t have Internet access.
• 50 percent of teens and those age 20–29, only, or mostly, go online using their mobile phone.

Let’s repeat that last stat: Half of the 13–29 segment goes online only, or mostly, on their mobile phone. And this is today.

Tomorrow it will be more.

And still the vast majority of companies go about their business as if it is still a Web 2.0 world complete with flash intros, bloated imagery and a mobile presence that is an add-on at best. These numbers back me up:

• 84 percent of consumer brands do not have a mobile strategy.
• 80 percent of B2B do not have a mobile strategy.

Companies keep thinking of mobile as a sub-tier of online/digital/Web strategy, when instead they should heed the words of McGrane and Luke Wrobleski, and buy into a mobile-first approach (or better yet, a content-first approach).

Mobile isn’t about patching a hole in your desktop experience (although, the boat is taking in water and sinking slowly). It’s about filling the need of the mobile consumer — the consumer who is becoming more and more comfortable reading, shopping, searching, communicating and interacting on mobile.

Good content transcends platforms.

Oh, by the way, that is the same consumer who doesn’t mind checking her Facebook news feed and Twitter timeline first thing in the morning and last thing before bed, and maybe reading this blog post — on mobile.

But I digress. Let’s go back to the catalyst for this blog post: McGrane’s Content Strategy for Mobile and, more importantly, her conference talk “The Mobile Content Mandate.”

McGrane has the kind of experience in UX design, content strategy and IA that not a lot of other people in the world have. She’s kind of a big deal.

She has experience in creating some of the Web’s best content-creating sites and user experiences, including Fast Company and the Atlantic.

She preaches content first instead of trying to cram content into different viewports and devices. Her mantra could be reinforced by one of the most significant sentences from her talk: “Good content transcends platforms.”

And good content can be leveraged through content strategy.

McGrane points out, “You don’t get to decide
which device people use to go on the Internet.”

The book centers on the reasoning why content strategy is so important in staying relevant, and a constant step ahead of changes, in the (mobile) marketplace. (If you want to delve deeper into content strategy, check out how it has impacted Britton Marketing & Design Group’s website and inbound marketing efforts.)

Content strategy allows you to do that. It allows you to be agile. It allows you to prepare for the future. It allows you to syndicate your content through a multichannel and omnichannel approach. The future is won by structured content and adaptable microcontent. It is won by COPE-ing and by taking care of business on the back end, as well as syndicating numerous pieces of content on the front end.

After all, as McGrane points out, “You don’t get to decide which device people use to go on the Internet.”

So, I ask, can you afford to treat mobile as an afterthought?

Content Strategy for Mobile is your first step.

The revolution is here. The revolution has passed. You blinked and missed it. But if you hurry, there still might be some time to change.

Note: If you want to know more about content strategy, I would recommend checking out two must-reads that are part of my foundation for content strategy: Kristina Halvorson’s Content Strategy for the Web and Erin Kissane’s The Elements of Content Strategy. They are both excellent reads and will give you the 411 you need to get started. Also, Jonathan Colman’s Epic List of Content Strategy Resources is quite epic.

This blog was written to the rocking tunes of “The Swede aka Nic“ Spotify playlist.

Niclas Hulting Inbound Channel Manager BMDG

Photos: A Book Apart

Originally published at www.brittonmdg.com.