Mobile Social Networking: strategies and case studies

SUMMARY

“Social networking has gathered huge momentum on the Web, and much effort is being expended to extend this trend to mobile environment. However, the business models and partnerships required to create a healthy and profitable market for mobile social networking are still evolving.”

Product overview

Operators, handset vendors and social networking service providers are keen to identify the business models that will help them to transfer the popularity enjoyed by social networking services on the Web to the mobile market. This report helps to address this need by examining the types of companies that are creating mobile social networks, and uses case studies to evaluate their strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. The SWOT analyses are used to recommend strategies for each type of company, as well as identify the mutually beneficial partnerships that can be formed.

Mobile social networking: strategies and case studies provides insight based on interviews with online social networking service providers Facebook and MySpace, as well as emerging mobile-specific networks such as Bluepulse and GyPSii. It also analyses the potential impact of Nokia's Share on Ovi on the competitive landscape, and includes case studies of major operators worldwide.

Mobile social networking: strategies and case studies answers your key questions about how to maximise this emerging market opportunity:

• How can mobile operators make best use of their unique position to drive and benefit from mobile social networking?
• Which revenue models (such as traffic revenue, subscriptions, advertising and transactions) will dominate the mobile social networking market, how will they evolve, and how will they differ by type of social network?
• What form of relationship between operators and social networks is going to create a mutually beneficial environment in which the greatest market opportunities are realised?

Who should read this report

• Mobile network operators and MVNOs: senior executives, product managers, business development and marketing executives, and technology leaders, to understand how they can maximise the revenue from mobile social networking, what types of relationships they should form with social networks, vendors and other enablers, which revenue models will work best for them, how they can make best use of their mobile assets, and the value of the mobile social networking opportunity.
• Handset vendors and other social network enablers: senior executives, technology strategists, product developers and business development executives, to determine whether they should provide mobile social networking services or be an enabler of them, what position they should adopt in the value chain, and what types of relationship they should form with established social networks, MNOs and MVNOs.
• Online social networks: senior executives, and product and business development managers, to understand how adding mobility can add value to their propositions, how they can use it to gain more users or generate additional revenue, which mobile features are going to be most useful to them, and what sort of relationships they should be forming with MNOs and MVNOs.
• Mobile social networks: senior executives, and product and business development managers, to understand how to attract a large number of users and monetize them.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

0. Summary

1. The search for social networking business opportunities is widening to include the mobile environment

• 1.1 Online social networks have gathered considerable momentum, but not profits
• 1.2 Mobility is creating new possibilities for social networking, but also new business challenges

2. Mobile-centric social networking service providers are looking for the best mix of services and marketing

• 2.1 The mobile environment provides opportunities for new types of social network to emerge
• 2.2 Providers are taking different approaches to building mobile-centric social networks
• 2.3 Case study: Nokia hopes Share on Ovi will reinforce its position in the handset market in competition with Apple
• 2.4 Case study: GeoSentric has made the GyPSii location-based mobile social network its primary business
• 2.5 Case study: Bluepulse aims to become a mass-market mobile social messaging platform
• 2.6 Competing mobile-centric social networks must develop their marketing channels and revenue models, not just their service offerings

3. Major online players are dominating the early development of mobile social networking

• 3.1 Popular online social networks have the advantage of established user bases, but still face the challenge of how to generate revenue
• 3.2 MySpace and Facebook have adopted different approaches to the mobile market
• 3.3 Case study: MySpace is already generating advertising revenue from the mobile extension to its popular social network
• 3.4 Case Study: Facebook prefers to delay entry into the mobile advertising market while it builds its mobile user base
• 3.5 Smaller players will need to demonstrate clear competitive differentiation to attract revenue

4. Mobile operators need to decide how to facilitate and whether to create mobile social networks

• 4.1 Mobile operators can choose from four approaches to mobile social networking
• 4.2 Case study: Vodafone is taking a holistic approach to mobile social networking
• 4.3 Case study: Orange plans to be an aggregator of social networks across multiple network types
• 4.4 Case study: SK Telecom has created a proprietary online and mobile social network called Cyworld
• 4.5 Case study: Hutchison 3G UK's SeeMeTV service has evolved into EyeVibe, an open, multi-operator social network
• 4.6 Mobile service providers should facilitate mobile social networking, but not attempt to replicate online social networks

5. An effective mobile social networking strategy has four elements

• 5.1 An understanding of objectives, strengths and weaknesses provides the foundation for a mobile social networking strategy
• 5.2 A strong service proposition will create unique selling points that match the company's objectives and target market
• 5.3 Indirect marketing channels are more important for mobile social networking than for online social networking
• 5.4 Revenue models need to support, rather than hinder, customer acquisition

• Actions
• About Analysys Mason
• Market intelligence services from Analysys Mason
• Reports from Analysys Mason
• Custom Research: meeting your information needs

List of Figures and Tables

• Table 1.1: Types of online social network
• Figure 2.1: Examples of social networks that incorporate mobile-centric features
• Table 2.1: Comparison of Bluepulse, GeoSentric and Nokia's approaches to marketing and revenue generation for mobile social networking
• Table 2.2: Comparison of strengths and weaknesses for Nokia, GeoSentric and Bluepulse in the mobile social networking market
• Table 2.3: Comparison of opportunities and threats for Nokia, GeoSentric and Bluepulse in the mobile social networking market
• Table 3.1: Comparison of MySpace and Facebook's approaches to mobile social networking
• Table 3.2: Comparison of strengths and weaknesses for MySpace and Facebook in the mobile social networking market
• Table 3.3: Comparison of opportunities and threats for MySpace and Facebook in the mobile social networking market
• Figure 3.1: Number of active Facebook users, December 2004 June 2008
• Table 4.1: Comparison of strengths and weaknesses for Vodafone, Orange, SK Telecom and Hutchison 3G in the mobile social networking market
• Table 4.2: Comparison of opportunities and threats for Vodafone, Orange, SK Telecom and Hutchison 3G in the mobile social networking market
• Table 4.3: User and usage figures for LookAtMe! and SeeMeTV, March 2006 and February 2008
• Figure 5.1: Elements of an effective mobile social networking strategy
• Table 5.1: The link between objectives and service propositions for selected online and mobile-centric social networking services
• Figure 5.2: Key decisions for MNOs and MNVOs when determining their appropriate role in mobile social networking
• Table 5.2: Advantages and disadvantages of alternative revenue models for mobile social networks