If you love something, let it go mobile: Mobile marketing and mobile social media 4x4

Social media applications including collaborative projects, micro-blogs/ blogs, content communities, social networking sites, and virtual worlds have become part of the standard communication repertoire for many companies. Today, with the creation of increasingly powerful mobile devices, numerous social media applications have gone mobile and new entrants are constantly appearing. The purpose of this article is to take account of this evolution, and provide an introduction to the general topic of mobile marketing and mobile social media. Herein, we define what mobile social media is, what it is not, and how it differs from other types of mobile marketing applications. Further, we discuss how firms can make use of mobile social media for marketing research, communication, sales promotions/discounts, and relationship development/loyalty programs. We present four pieces of advice for mobile social media usage, which we refer to as the 'Four l's' of mobile social media. Finally, we conclude by providing some thoughts on the future evolution of this new and exciting type of application. (C) 2011 Kelley School of Business, Indiana University. All rights reserved.