NEW YORK - Given the new breed of smartphones and affordable all-you-can-eat data packages, consumers now expect the same Web experience on mobile devices that they get on desktop and laptop computers. Mobile donors are no different.

Donors are consumers and they lead hectic on-the-go lifestyles. They use their mobile devices to search, shop, communicate, entertain and engage with advertising and marketing.

?In the United States there are 5,200 different versions of handsets and operating systems,? said Annette Tonti, CEO of MoFuse, New York. ?It is very different from the online environment.

?At the end of the day there is something interesting happening,? she said. ?Smartphones are getting more powerful, but are still not up there with a PC.

?Bandwidth is getting better, as we head towards 4G.?

In the U.S. in particular, mobile applications have been hot and brands assume that they are the way to go. But, the mobile Web is coming on strong, especially with what is possible with HTML5.

There is more to mobile than just applications. The mobile Web has greater reach.

Building a mobile site
Ms. Tonti said nonprofits really need to think of a proper mobile Web strategy that is independent of their PC Web strategy.

?Don?t just squish your PC site onto a mobile screen,? Ms. Tonti said. ?You need to think about a mobile Web site specifically.?

For example, Flash does not load on the iPhone.

The load time for a mobile Web site averages about 3 seconds and an online site loads for about 36 seconds on the mobile Web.

Mobile-optimized sites make the nonprofit?s content easy to find, since it is designed for a small screen and the message is adapted to a mobile viewer.

Mobile Web users have a different thinking style.

With a PC site on mobile, users need to find the content.

MoFuse has worked with small- to mid-sized nonprofits such as the Toy Industry Association, Bicycle Ride Across Iowa, National Catholic Register and Oklahoma Youth Ministries to help these organizations get key alerts out and keep donors up to date on upcoming events.

The Securities and Exchange Commission also has a mobile-optimized informational site.

Software and hardware hurdles
Ran Farmer, managing director for North America at Netbiscuits, Hamburg, Germany, talked about the software and hardware hurdles that companies face when building a mobile site.

?Fragmentation in mobile is a challenge,? Mr. Farmer said.

There are 200 carrier networks, 300 user agents per device, 5,000 mobile devices worldwide, 500 content formats, 15 mobile browsers, 6 mobile operating systems and 10 software revisions per mobile operating system.

?There are many dimensions to building a mobile site,? Mr. Farmer said. ?Three devices generated 39 percent of all mobile site requests in 2010 and 2,505 devices generated 61 percent of all mobile traffic.

?Map your device strategy,? he said. ?Will you go short or go long??

Both panelists suggested teaming with a vendor to build a mobile site. Mobile site developers are the platform layer that helps develop once and not have to redevelop for each new platform. They give nonprofits the capability to monetize a lot of what they are doing on the Web.

Elements of a successful mobile site include: site monetization, featured SMS integration, payment solutions, ad serving, ad network integration and a mobile storefront, per Mr. Farmer.

Management is an important aspect and consists of tracking and analytics, application hosting, content and media, and a device database.

Case study ? MTV
MTV Networks launched a donation portal for Haiti that had an SMS billing payment infrastructure.

Netbiscuits helped MTV set up the mobile site at http://www.hopeforhaitinow.mobi in two days to stream the Hope For Haiti concert live on the site.

The concert got 50,000 views in 90 min and the site was able to raise $100,000 in donations.

?We recommend that you go through a similar process for building a PC Web site when you build your mobile site,? Mr. Farmer said. ?The user experience should be different, but you need to define your customer?s mobile behavior."

A member of the audience asked if there is a way around having two content management systems.

Mr. Farmer said Netbiscuits can integrate mobile into an existing Web CMS. Other companies work by building a whole new one.

Companies like MTV for example have too many sites and mobile versions to have a different CMS for each. They integrate all into one. Larger organizations need one seamless view of all their content.

?Mobile Web should be part of a nonprofit strategy,? Ms. Tonti said. ?Donors are on mobile. They are looking for you on mobile.?

Here are both presentations:

Annette Tonti's presentation

Ran Farmer's presentation

Here are some photos taken during the session:

Netbiscuits' Ran Farmer and MoFuse's Annette Tonti:

Mobile Marketer and Mobile Commerce Daily's Rimma Kats moderates:

At the end of the session, Giselle Tsirulnik, senior editor of Mobile Marketer interviewed Mr. Farmer.

Here is the video interview:

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