Having moderated several sessions over the past year, it's clear that the granularity of the topic won't deter those new to the industry to ask unrelated Mobile 101 questions.

Last week's ad:tech New York conference was a case in point. Two sessions in the final hours of the fourth and last day, one a "Making Mobile Work" workshop sponsored by mobile SMS search specialist ChaCha and the other on mobile social networking, saw significant attendance from online marketers and agencies.

Like large parts of the marketing world, the delegates were curious about mobile and where it fit within the multichannel mix. Inevitably, both panels generated questions that pertained not just to campaign specifics or featured case studies, but on the basics of mobile marketing.

Indeed, what came across was a thirst for knowledge on the mobile ecosystem. These marketers in the audience knew that mobile was no longer a luxury, but an option that had to be exercised sooner than later.

And so the questions were familiar: What is the click-through rate with mobile? CPMs? How are ads tracked? Do cookies work? Where do you begin? What's the ideal budget? What are short codes? How do you get short codes? What are the rules for permission?

The list goes on.

What this tells us is that mobile marketers need to better communicate mobile's value to the outside world.

Maybe a "Get Mobile" campaign in leading business publications and non-mobile association newsletters would help. Maybe more mobile sessions in non-mobile conferences would increase familiarity. Maybe convincing more agencies to attend mobile conferences would help.

Smart tones
Mobile has its issues.

While smartphones have mobile Internet capability, mobile sites can't be cookied like the wired Web sites can. Hence the one thing that online and direct marketers love -- tracking -- is missing.

Sooner or later, that tracking problem will be addressed. But for now, that's a major worry for marketers looking to track ad dollars in the way they do their online or direct media buys.

The one thing mobile marketers want to do is make sure their prospects understand that while mobile shares similar characteristics with the wired Internet, it is a different medium.

If the wired Internet on a computer is not confused for television, so should mobile not be confused with the wired Internet or TV. That perception problem needs to be addressed immediately as it is a major barrier to mobile adoption.

Another worry for most online marketers and agencies attending trade shows and conferences is perception of complication. Mobile seems so complex to these delegates.

And the irony is, many panelists, however well-meaning, simply heighten the confusion by stressing mobile's unique qualities.

Unique translates to complicated, which may well play to the intentions of some panelists and industry experts who learned from Microsoft's old way to recruit customers -- the FUD theory: Fear, uncertainty, doubt.

That approach just won't do. You cannot expect to sell mobile marketing on its branding and direct marketing virtues by playing a negative message or sowing doubt.

Most panelists should work to demystify mobile to an audience that has already pre-qualified itself by showing up to a mobile session. That is not the time to set the cat among the pigeons and delay progress to another session at the same time next year.

Clarity, case studies linking mobile to other channels and empathy with a marketer's frustrations are essential qualities for the privilege of representing the industry as a panelist. Leave the glibness behind.

World Wireless Web
The simplest way for mobile marketers to make the case for mobile is to encourage every single client or prospect they encounter to start with a mobile Web site. The site must be tailored to the targeted consumer base's mobile needs and mindset.

Once the mobile site is well-publicized and visited, then buy a short code and launch permission-based SMS text campaigns leveraging other channels. Mobile banner ads and mobile search buys should follow. The final piece is a mobile site capable of transactions, if need be.

It's not necessary to have a whiz-bang mobile site to start with. There are plenty of affordable out-of-the-box solutions that allow marketers to create simple informational mobile sites. Graduate to a more sophisticated mobile site after accumulating enough market feedback.

What about that argument that there are only 40 million smartphone users nationwide with mobile Internet in their plans? In other words, they are roughly 16 percent of the universe of 255 million mobile subscribers nationwide.

Well, that's a good size audience to start with. A smart marketer will always test with a smaller segment of the target audience before expanding to the entire universe. Why should mobile be an exception, especially when testing with the most Web-savvy of the mobile lot?

If anything, expect use of the mobile Internet nationwide to grow exponentially.

More Apple iPhones are said to have sold last quarter than BlackBerries. That says two things: user interface and experience matters and the mobile Internet is here to stay and sooner or later overtake the wired Internet as the first port of call for online users.

It doesn't take much for a marketer to dip its toes into mobile.

One of the smartest marketers nationwide recently targeted 300 million consumers through a multichannel mix including mobile, although only 53 percent of 123 million qualified to buy the product.

That marketer and product was Barack Obama, the incoming president of the United States. And he spent only $7,000 on his campaign mobile Web site.