By KF Lai

To implement the most effective campaign, you really need to understand the media platform you are running it on.

Advertisers cannot assume that the mobile Web is an extension of the traditional Internet. The physical dimension leads to a different user experience and its prevalence means the inclusion of many who may not have prior experience of the Internet.

The circumstances in which a consumer would access a networking site on a mobile phone are very different to accessing a site using a PC. We constantly monitor traffic and analyse it for behavioural trends based on user profile.

Some interesting conclusions we have ascertained are: 

-- Students do not surf the mobile Internet on holidays

-- In Britain and Nigeria, mobile surfers tend to check messages early in the morning

-- Office workers do not surf during the lunch hour

Mobile social
When it comes to mobile Internet services, mobile social networking is certainly creating a buzz.

Recent findings from comScore show that 11.1 percent of all mobile phone users accessed a social networking site via their mobile browser, up 4.6 percent from the previous year.

Much of this growth has been driven by smartphone owners, 30.8 percent of whom accessed social networking sites on their mobile browsers.

However, globally, the smartphone audience is a limited one.

To run a truly effective campaign, advertisers need to understand how, when and why the mass consumer audience is engaging with mobile social networks on all devices and all platforms.

Advertisers need to realise that running an ad on Facebook or Twitter on the Internet will not reach the same audience as on the mobile phone.

In addition, there is a different user interface and different formatting of content for the smaller screen.
Download times vary and the types of things a user would want to do on a mobile blog are very different to that of a blogger on a PC.

Target audience
More than anything, the popular Internet-based social networks are not the only mobile social networks gaining real traction.

Our mobile social network, myGamma has more than 4.3 million users globally. Another player, MocoSpace, is an equally popular mobile social network.

The mobile social networking platform has significant opportunities, but should be handled with care to avoid wasted ad budget ? who are you trying to target, where are they and how do they engage with the site? What is your target audience and what mobile technologies are they using?

Only by gathering this insight will you be able to fully exploit this platform for maximum impact.

KF Lai is CEO of BuzzCity, Singapore. Reach him at .