This week at their Palo Alto headquarters, Facebook revealed details of their mobile strategy to extend their presence with three mobile initiatives:

Deals ­ Taking on Foursquare and Gowalla, Facebook has officially released “Deals” allowing businesses to engage and interact with nearby foot traffic. A business has access to four types of deals: Individual, Friend, Loyalty and Charity. Deals are free (for now) but Facebook is hoping businesses will extend their deals by advertising with them.

Places API – Facebook has opened access to its Write API and Search API to Facebook Places for all developers. Along with the Read API that was released in August, a 3rd party app can not only consume data from Places, it can now write back to it (ie. update a user¹s status) and access facebook’s venue database ­ returning not only locations by proximately but relevance as well.

Single Sign On for Mobile Apps ­ Now users can login in quickly and easily to mobile apps with Facebook¹s single sign on. It’s currently available on all versions of Android apps and iPhones that support multitasking as long as the Facebook app is installed on your device. Also this week, Facebook released new updates to its iPhone & Android apps ­ both include an update to its places feature, incorporating deals, ability to add photos and expanded friend tagging.

The primary keys to successful mobile content are brevity and focus. As one wag has said, “it’s like writing for the web, only more so.”

The mobile reader/user is not sitting in the comfort of their home or office with the screen in front of them as their main focus. Their attention is often divided, and if you expect to get through the clutter of their surroundings, you must be prepared to edit ruthlessly, trimming away as much unnecessary verbiage as possible while focusing on the clarity of your core message.

A mobile web page has to get to the point quickly, and be easy to scan and understand. “Simple” is the watchword for screens that can be as small as 120 pixels wide. The maximum size of a mobile web page should probably be in the range of 300 to 500 words, although skewing to the upper end of that range is preferable to cutting content into pieces that force the user to download more pages over possibly sketchy networks.

If starting with content from an existing desktop-based website, be sure to treat the original source as just a starting point. Think in terms of robust summaries rather than long expository text. Mobile content need to be more actionable (more hard information, less anecdotes) and focused on user needs (scanable, concise, clear, and fast loading). This is one of those situations when less can really be more.

Bottom Line: When writing for mobile, invest enough time to write less.

Authored by Frank

While barcode scanning has been prevalent in other countries for years, we hadn’t seen it take off here in the U.S. yet until just this year. According to data by ScanLife, barcode scans are up 700% over last year. And in June, there were more scans in one month, than during all of 2009 (http://bit.ly/bGMI36). It’s an equal rise between 1D and 2D codes, and we are starting to see many more print ads and outdoor marketing initiatives include 2D (or QR) codes for simple ways to direct consumers to specific web sites or landing pages that can be tailored for their campaigns.

We’ve thought for a long time that this was more than just a novelty – that once consumers figured out how to use them, they would provide a great way to connect with targeted audiences in a cross-channel and localized manner. Beyond using them simply as a way to drive people to a web address, they are a key element in the rise of augmented reality initiatives, especially in shopping environments. (http://slidesha.re/b0MBfu) Imagine being able to scan the barcode of a printer on a store shelf, and seeing all of the parts in a 3-D schematic, or instantly find user reviews… or shoot the QR on clothing store rack to see how that sweater would look on your son by overlaying it with a photo of him.

And now, Google has made it even easier to include them, with their URL shortener Goo.gl providing QR codes for any web address, along with a short url. So why not test it with your direct mail, print advertising, and/or POS creative? (http://bit.ly/clR07L)

After years of negative feedback from developers about how strict Apple’s rules have been for applications, they are easing up with their new rules (http://bit.ly/dk7NcA).

Rumors are that this may also include Flash, which has long been banned by Mr. Jobs, but could now find its way into the iPhone through third party applications. Apple’s stated reason for these changes? They say it is because they want even more engaging and exciting apps, with a spokesperson posting “we don’t need any more fart apps.”

However, we tend to agree with Ad Age in thinking that the real reason is a little more self serving (http://bit.ly/cEPDEy). Regardless, we’re all for increasing opportunity in the mobile marketplace. And while this may be a temporary setback for apps that are currently in early development, it is also an opportunity to revisit some of the great whiteboard ideas that were left on the brainstorm cutting room floor due to Apple’s prior rules.

More and more U.S. consumers are sending text messages with their phones – up from 65% in 2009 to 72% this year. While teens average 50 text messages per day (yes, that’s one for every 15-20 minutes of awake time!), adults are more in the 10 per day range. And while teens primarily text, and make fewer voice calls, the adults who text the most are also the same ones who make the most voice calls on their mobile phones.

Demographically, there are some notable differences, such as African-Americans and Hispanics sending twice as many texts per day as whites (http://bit.ly/cvYq1j). While apps and check-ins are ruling the headlines, SMS/MMS messaging is continuing to grow, and provide marketing opportunities. Just because it’s not as sexy as some of the deeper mobile/social integrations, we should not ignore this powerful marketing channel.