By Vivian Lee

Mobile social media is fast becoming an important medium for social networking on-the-go.

In the context of peer-to-peer communication, mobile social media is extremely efficient and provides immediate gratification to consumers who want to show off their activities in the form of tagged videos and pictures taken from a moile phone and shared in real-time with online social networks, individual users or custom groups.

It's no secret that Web celebrities are popping up as a result of their savvy use of social networking and micro-blogging.

Julia Allison and Justine Ezarik are just a couple examples of power users who have effectively leveraged social media to drive notoriety and awareness around themselves.

The next generation of online celebrities will be those who fully realize the activities associated with mobile social media.

How is mobile social media relevant for big brands? We all understand the success of online social networking and media exchange from the likes of MySpace, Facebook, YouTube, Twitter and other popular online portals.

With the increasing affordability and caché of camera-enabled mobile phones and adoption of unlimited data plans, consumers are using mobile phones as their primary medium to express themselves and exchange media with friends and virtual connections.

So, when a person snaps that photo or records video on the mobile phone at 1 a.m., he or she has the ability to share it immediately with a number of friends and virtual connections.

Likewise, those on the receiving end can interact in real-time by responding via text, mobile videos and pictures.

The ease of broadcasting snack-sized pieces of mobile content makes the medium all the more compelling and engaging for the average person.

Big brands understand the power of peer-to-peer communications and the significance of viral adoption.

Mobile social media is the new conduit to actively engage consumers, solicit and receive candid feedback, and deliver a compelling message that is contextual and relevant.

Brands have an opportunity to get beyond static mobile advertising by participating in the creation and delivery of multimedia content that offers a meaningful way to engage and get consumers to associate the brand in a personal context.

How can you mobilize a brand? We see a huge opportunity for brands to leverage mobile social media to drive brand awareness, acquire new customers and drive loyalty from their existing consumers.

Leading products can leverage this medium to promote lifestyle choices through user-generated videos and pictures, produced content and two-way dialogue with consumers via user-generated-content media exchange.

Geo-tagging on location-based-service-enabled phones is a valuable feature that is highly relevant for brands that want to tailor their messaging based on demographic and geographic data.

Geo-tagging simply means that users can add geographic metadata to their video and pictures, so others can see where the content was taken.

The real-time aspect of geo-tagging makes it even more exciting for brands and businesses to contextually interact with consumers.

Why should you care about mobile social media? What does mobile social media mean to the average user? Consumers can use the mobile medium to connect with friends and people they know virtually on sites such as MySpace and Twitter.

People can share their experiences and interests on-the-fly through their mobile phones, which makes the exchange of user-generated-content all the more candid and genuine.

One can play interactive games via the exchange of mobile video, picture and text messages. This medium allows consumers to express themselves 24/7, and enables people to reveal different aspects of their personality and interests.

According to recent statistics from Informa Telecoms, an estimated 50 million people in the world use their mobile phones for social networking. The world is becoming a smaller, more intimate place with the linkages driven between mobile and online social networking.

Brands have an opportunity to be at the forefront of consumer engagement by tapping into mobile social media and wisely using their marketing dollars to convert disbelievers into die-hard consumers.

The power of user generated content, real-time dialogue and presence, and the creativity that ensues with mobile social media opens doors to endless possibilities for brands to exploit.

Vivian Lee is vice president of marketing at JuiceCaster Wireless Inc., Los Angeles.