Embracing Automotive Mobile Marketing in Car Dealerships

by Missy Jensen on Mar 3, 2011

According to a recent cell phone study by Pew Internet, “85% of Americans ages 18 and older own a cell phone, making it by far the most popular device among adults” and a great opportunity for car dealerships to utilize for automotive mobile marketing purposes. Not too surprisingly, the study also found that a great deal of time spent on a mobile phone has nothing to do with talking! A large majority of people use their mobile phones to text, as well as visit social networks, surf the Internet and take/share photos. This type of behavior qualifies for a great opportunity to engage your target market in automotive sms marketing services for your dealership.

Since it is clearly evident that Americans have rapidly embraced mobile phones – and their various functionalities – dealerships should consider how to utilize mobile technology to improve automotive mobile marketing efforts. Here are a few recommended automotive text messaging solutions your dealership should strongly consider implementing:

1. Automotive Text Messaging Solutions: By nature, text messaging is meant to be short (160 characters) and to the point. It is well suited for sending relevant, timely and brief messages that are speaking directly to a customer’s need and/or interest. Of course, like other modes of communication, unwanted, irrelevant and unnecessary text messages will damage your relationship with customers. Therefore, some good ways to use text messaging in your automotive mobile marketing efforts – without becoming an annoyance – is to send texts related to:

• Service: service reminders, appointment reminders, missed appointment notifications, additional service recommendations, arrival of a special parts order, and thank you.
• Sales: notification of approaching lease termination, birthday, anniversary, and thank you.

It’s a good idea to get started with text messaging as a form of communication for your dealership because your current young target audience members are texting fanatics. Young adults (ages 18-24) exchange on average 1,630 messages monthly, according to Nielsen. Note: You definitely want to get your customers to opt-in to receive text messages. This can be done at the dealership or by implementing an opt-in submission form on your website. Either way, your dealership must gain consent before sending texts to customers and have an opt-out option available should they no longer wish to receive texts from your dealership.

2. QR Codes: If you don’t know what QR codes are, they are the 2-dimensional barcodes that store information that can be read by a mobile phone or device. You’ve likely seen everywhere lately: magazine advertisements, promotional pieces and emails, for example. They are easily scannable barcodes that, when you point your smartphone camera at them, they provide a message, open a website or produce other branded content. The use of QR Codes is a step toward fully taking advantage of mobile marketing for the automotive industry.

While many OEMs are implementing QR codes in their automotive mobile marketing efforts, car dealerships at the local level can also use them to engage customers in various ways. One way is to interact with those who peruse their lots during off hours. A QR code for each used vehicle can be created through a free QR-generator site (such as Kaywa), printed (whether on paper or in sticker form) and posted on the vehicle. When customers scan the code, they are brought to a page on your dealership’s website regarding that specific vehicle to obtain any additional information and even specials on pricing/financing. QR codes can also be included in your print advertising, whether it be your newspaper ads or direct mail pieces…again, leading traffic to your website. Lastly, your dealership can place a QR code on service department receipts to lead customers to an online customer service survey.

Though QR codes are fairly new, they are definitely growing in popularity and serve as a great tool to bridge the real and digital world.

3. Automotive Mobile Apps – Smart phone applications are all the rage. How many times have you heard “There’s an app for that!”? Well, even car dealerships are intrigued by the possibility of developing a customized app.

AutoNation has developed a customized app that allows you to explore their new and used car inventory from the comfort of your Smart Phone. Additionally, it allows you to estimate the Kelley Blue Book value of your current car.

Similar to QR codes above, Mobile Apps allow your dealership to maintain an additional touch point with your customers, providing critical information about vehicles and your dealership (such as directions and contact information) in a very user friendly way. If your current website isn’t mobile optimized, then a mobile app is the best way to share your critical web content to people surfing on a smartphone.

We’ve listed a few ways above for dealerships to include mobile as part of their overall automotive mobile marketing efforts. Has your dealership implemented any mobile efforts? What has your experience been thus far?

~ Missy Jensen, Social Media Manager at DMEautomotive

Bio:
Missy designs, deploys and maintains the social media initiatives for DMEautomotive in an effort to increase brand awareness, distribute company and industry news, provide updates on products and services and promote consumer engagement. Missy enjoys the process of learning; researching and watching projects come to fruition!

Prior to her transformation into a web specialist and work with DMEautomotive, she has 10 years of experience in the marketing and communications industry. Missy served as the Director, Handicapping & Communications for a regional golf association and helped successfully launch and maintain a cutting edge technology-based ticket resale program on behalf of the St. Louis Cardinals.

Missy attended St. Lawrence University where she graduated Magna Cum Laude with a BS in Psychology. She also holds a Master’s Degree from Miami University in Oxford, OH. She can be reached at missy.jensen@dmeautomotive.com and check her out on LinkedIn.

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Data-Driven Marketing: Mobile by the Numbers

Jeff Adelson-Yan | Mar 01, 2011

Thanks to a recent webinar we watched presented by Google, we have these number to present to you…

Over Half of all Americans will have smart phones by the end of 2011

17% of all auto industry searches are from mobile devices

79% of large advertisers do not have a mobile optimized site.

Mobile web use increases greatly on weekends as desktop web use decreases.

What does all of this tell us? It’s time to get serious about creating mobile strategies and thanks to a recent webinar from Google, we have some great tips on how to do just that. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, the time to hesitate has passed. Check out some of these statistics…

According to eMarketer, mobile transactions will total nearly $1 trillion by 2014. WOW.

Mobile is Local and 33% of mobile searches are local.

Mobile is a Shopping Companion as 79% of smart phone users will use their phones when at a store while considering a purchase decision.

So now that you’ve seen the raw statistics. Here’s what you need to do:

Optimize Website for Mobile Use- ease of use, navigation and simplification of site is important. See our post Data-Driven Marketing Tips for Optimizing for Mobile.

Think Local – and assess how your company can use mobile to provide value. This could come in a variety of ways, from Store locator options, to using QR codes on products to allow for greater information distribution. Put yourself in the shoppers shoes, they’re racing around during their daily life and bam they need X product. How can you delivery great customer service to them in a mobile fashion? After looking up a local business on their smart phone, 61% of users called the business and 59% visited.

Leverage Mobile Features – There are so many great ways to optimize for mobile now. Features like Click to call, location extensions, site links for navigation on site, and use of display advertising can all be implemented to better engage the consumer. Consider that mobile is immediate and a shopping companion.

Create Separate Campaigns for Mobile- Organization in any ad campaign is critical, and this is certainly the case with mobile. By segmenting your adwords into a mobile only campaign you can bid more aggressively for higher rank.

Test and Iterate – Finally continue to test and optimize your strategy.

View Original Article: B2C

Using Web site best practice to increase mobile site conversion

February 28, 2011

Mark Simpson is founder and president of Maxymiser

By Mark Simpson

At the beginning of every year for the past decade, we have heard industry experts proclaim that it will be the “year of the mobile Web.”

Now we are saying it again, but this time it looks like the real deal. This year will be the true test of brand marketers’ mobile madness and aptitude as consumers continue to turn to their Web-enabled mobile devices as a daily means of quick, on-the-go brand interaction, buying research and, now, shopping.

A recent comScore survey found that the United States is home to 60.7 million smartphone users, up 14 percent from the previous quarter.

With smartphone use on the rise, mobile marketers who are not using conversion optimization and Web site personalization techniques on their mobile sites will fall behind as mobile-savvy competitors take the lead in market share growth in 2011.

Optimizing mobile sites
Mobile site development and usability have been challenging, uncharted territories for most online marketers. To be effective, I have found that mobile sites need to be:

• Tested (multivariate and A/B testing) and optimized so that consumers are continuously served relevant (and only relevant) content

• Designed specifically so that content and design fit the limited size of mobile screens

• Personalized so that consumers receive the information they need, when they need it

It is critical to remember that not everything is relevant in a mobile environment.

The trick is to figure out what your customers need most from you in their on-the-go lives.

For example, retail consumers typically use their handheld devices to locate stores quickly or compare prices, but not to browse through dense pages of product information and promotional offers.

Similarly, banking consumers might feel comfortable using their handheld devices to check their account balances, but not to apply for a mortgage.

Make sure you know what your customers need and want from their mobile environment, before you determine the content, design and layout.

Making mobile marketing work
The world of mobile marketing is becoming increasingly competitive as more brands dip their toes in the mobile waters.

We experienced a very similar trend a few years ago when conversion optimization for standard Web sites emerged.

Multivariate testing, A/B testing, segment targeting and Web site personalization on traditional Web sites have proven to be very effective tools for increasing conversion rates and online revenue.

But now, marketers must put the same tools and best practices to work for handhelds.

Amazon’s continued dominance in the ecommerce industry is a result of its ability to rigorously test, personalize and optimize its sites.

Online marketers who follow Amazon’s lead for their mobile site content from the onset will gain a foothold in the mobile commerce industry. Those who do not will lose the opportunity to lead the market.

Get ahead of the game
Fortunately, we now possess the technology to continuously perform mobile A/B and multivariate testing, which pinpoints the most relevant combination of content and design for your audience.

In my experience, testing is the fastest and most effective way to pull out the strongest features of your mobile site and optimize accordingly.

However, testing solutions are only truly valuable if you make the content and design modifications in real-time.

Often, such technologies also have the ability to recognize differences between the wide range of mobile devices and platforms, and serve the most relevant content in an effective design, based on screen size, resolution and alignment.

Mobile site optimization ensures that your customers can receive the content they need, how they need it and when they need it most.

Personalize the mobile experience
Once your mobile site is optimized for your general audience, it is important to personalize the experience for each individual.

Web site personalization for the mobile experience further ensures that customers’ needs are met, but also allows them to feel a closer connection to your brand.

Handheld digital devices serve personal data storage purposes for emails, appointments and presentations, often painting a near-complete picture of a person’s lifestyle and preferences.

Many consumers consider these devices to be an extension of them, which is why it is crucial for them to be able to access a mobile site that meets their individual needs and desires.

The key to Web site personalization is a strong conversion optimization platform that allows you to reach consumers with ideal content for the mobile environment.

Due to the lack of real estate for multiple messages, it is more important for mobile sites to be personalized to the individual than traditional Web sites.

However, while using data about individuals and how they interact with a brand through traditional online means, the mobile Web and other channels provide an opportunity for marketers to nail their brand messaging.

Marketers must combine and analyze information about a consumer’s device, including the time of the day, day of the week, the points from which they access specific pages and their movement throughout the mobile site.

By serving the right information to the right individual in the right format, marketers can make every visitor count.

Allow for communication between channels
Time and time again, I see companies optimizing in silos, failing to properly connect their mobile efforts with the rest of their marketing strategy.

Yet, customers are, and will continue to, engage with brands across multiple channels.

Whether a customer uses a Web site, mobile site or bricks-and-mortar store, her brand experience should be consistent and personalized to her preferences and needs – regardless of the channel.

Few marketers currently take advantage of multichannel marketing tools that can create a 360-degree detailed view of each customer, and empower effective, automated Web site personalization during their mobile experience and beyond.

Marketers should be engaging with multichannel marketing now to outperform competitors.

AS THE MOBILE expands over the next year and more companies understand the benefits of these tools, conversion optimization and Web site personalization services for mobile are likely to gain significant popularity.

Marketers that take the leap today with these services will certainly find themselves ahead of the curve tomorrow.

Mark Simpson is founder and president of Maxymiser Inc., New York. Reach him at mark@maxymiser.com.

Using QR Codes In Your Dealership

QR Codes

No doubt you’ve heard of QR codes or have at least seen these two dimensional pieces of art in a variety of places. QR stands for “quick response”, developed by the Denso division of Toyota to quickly identify parts. Widely used in many other parts of the world, QR codes have taken a while to catch on with US consumers. With the rush of mobile devices, QR codes are now quick finding their way into a variety of marketing venues.

In a basic sense, a QR code simply replaces a step for the mobile user. Instead of manually inputting a URL or dialing a phone number, a scan of a QR code can accomplish the same task. Simply scan the code using your mobile device and be taken to the virtual destination. Before dismissing QR codes as a simple novelty, note that in today’s fast paced environment, typing in a URL or dialing a number may be too distracting, time consuming, resulting no user action. QR codes offer yet another time-saver for users.

How They Work

Some mobile devices now come standard with a QR reader, others require a download from an app store. Most readers are free, while some with advanced features are offered at a minimal price. Either can be obtained by simply searching “QR reader” in your app store. The QR reader uses the camera in your mobile device to scan QR codes. Try it here, it’s simple and fast.

Why QR Codes for Car

Shoppers?

QR codes have been shown

to be particularly effective with research-intensive products. Cellar Key uses QR codes on bottles of wine to inform, entertain, and motivate buyers. Jennifer Van Grove’s article at Mashable notes that “Scanners can watch videos about the wine in question, get video tours of wineries, discover food pairings, read up on harvest and tasting notes and check out reviews.”

Could the same strategy be used on the dealer lot?

Create your QR code

There are a variety of free options to create QR codes for your marketing efforts:

Kaywa is a QR code generator for URLs, text, phone numbers, or SMS.

iCandy aids in tracking around generator codes and provides some analytics.

Google’s take on QR codes mixes in URL shorteners and includes tracking services.

Market your Code

Window Stickers: We’ve been seeing some innovative dealers use QR codes on the lot (Window stickers with printed QR Codes help consumers). Lot shoppers, especially those browsing afterhours, are able to scan, download a dealer app, and check inventory right on their mobile phone.

Marketing Materials: While an obvious use, this should not be overlooked. Include business cards, fliers, brochures, and mass mail campaigns in the list of potentials. Use QR codes on envelopes to increase your direct mail response rates.

Specials: Consider incentivizing your customer with a coupon or discount through a QR code. Hide the QR code inside your Facebook page or website. Hide it in your store or on the lot – create a treasure hunt.

On business cards: A fast and simple way to use QR codes for your own professional purposes is to place them on business cards. Generate a barcode that directs scanners to your online resume, small business Facebook Page or your website to help new contacts find you or your business faster.

On marketing materials: You’ve got fliers, brochures, programs, handouts, whitepapers and a myriad of other materials in your media kit. Add QR codes to direct viewers to a particular how-to video, send them to a Flickr photo set, get them to follow you on Twitter, or point them to a mobile-friendly landing page that promotes a new campaign. For inspiration, check out what the Detroid Red Wings did with QR codes in their arena programs.

Educate the user

If you use QR codes in marketing, be aware that not all consumers know what it is or how to use a QR code. Include a brief description below your code on how to scan and how to obtain a QR reader.

If you’re going to use QR codes for small business marketing, you’ll want to keep in mind that QR codes — and the apps that scan them — are still foreign to most people.

Yes, more and more people are starting to associate the codes with action, but never assume your customers will know what to do. Make it a point to spell out how to scan the QR code, and help instruct customers on where they can grab scanner apps.

Tracking QR Codes

While some QR generators contain analytics, simple use of traceable URL shorteners like bit.ly can give you a basic analysis of your campaign. Use a unique traceable shortened URL as the destination of your QR code to get a singular view of your QR campaign’s effectiveness.

All In All

Don’t just assume that you might gain some traction with a campaign based solely on the novelty or the “buzz” surrounding QR Code right now. I encourage you to think down the road and execute creatively in your use of QR Codes. There is virtually no limit to the ways in which you might make excellent use of this technology to enhance your advertising and marketing efforts in order to achieve your goals.

How could you use QR codes?

by Gary Sanders on Feb 21, 2011

If you have been to an airport or looked at a Sunday newspaper ad, QR codes are growing. So how can we use them?

What if QR codes became a virtual walk around? We may not be ready to have them on the showroom (yet), but what about any car you have on display offsite?

What if the Manufactures used them at the Auto Shows?

What if this code talked about the fuel economy of the Lexus RX350?

What if this code talked about the Smart Access Key and Push Button Start?

What if this code talked about the RX Performance and the 3.5-liter V6 Engine?

As I continue to learn more about them, the ideas are limitless. The one recommendation is to create a separate site that is compatible for a smart phone. Don’t send it to your vendors sites like Cobalt and Dealer.com because it opens your dealers mobile site. I am testing out the use of our codes on StevinsonLexusofLakewood.org which is hosted by Word Press.

Are you using them in your dealer? Let the Driving Sales community know what you are doing.

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How To Get Started In Mobile Marketing

Michael Brenner | Feb 08, 2011

Mobile is one of the hottest topics in B2B Marketing in 2011. More businesses are embracing smart-phones and tablets as part of their support and operations. And more people are moving their search and content interaction activities to their mobile devices.

To meet this change in media habits, Marketers will spend upwards of $13 or $14 Billion dollars on Mobile Marketing in 2011 according to the Mobile Marketing Association as we discussed in Mobile Marketing In 2011 – Are You Ready? With all this excitement, B2B Marketers are looking to build mobile into their marketing plans but are facing challenges in how to get started.

SMS, MMS, WAP…There are a ton of acronyms and terms that can seem confusing. And there is not much experience in B2B Marketing with successful mobile campaigns. So here are some things to keep in mind when considering concrete Mobile Marketing activities:

• Presence. You need to be present where your customers are searching for information.
• Relevance. The content needs to meet a specific need and be delivered in the proper context for mobile.
• Keep It Simple. The mobile platform demands simplicity so users aren’t frustrated.
• Real-time. It’s gotta be fast or don’t do it.

What kind of tactics should you consider in order to get started in Mobile Marketing:

1. Mobile Search.With the increases in adoption of 3G and 4G mobile smart-phones, the volume of searches happening on mobile phones is going to continue to increase. According to TechCrunch, Mobile Search is expected to grow to 20% of all searches by 2012. The article suggests two main areas to focus on in mobile search. First, the display area is much smaller. This means each search yields far fewer results and thus higher click-through rates. The other focus should be Local Search, Search marketers need to consider geo-targeting their ads where appropriate.
2. Mobile Display.There are so many different phones and Operating System (OS) configurations that the number of formats can be overwhelming. Marketers need to plan for this in their budgets. There is also a myriad of exchange, network and service providers to chose from including Burstly, InMobi, Apple iAd plus the traditional players like Google’s AdMob, Yahoo and Bing.
3. Text and Video.Both of these content approaches has its unique challenges. For text, permission is a huge concern. And you want to make sure the medium is used in the right context. Updates at trade shows is one good example of how to use SMS and MMS messages. In video, formats is an issue with the Apple OS and any video size and length needs to be throught through very carefully.
4. Games and Apps. Last year it seemed like everyone wanted to develop a game or an ”app.” For B2B, I have already questioned the role of Augmented Reality For B2B Marketing in 2011? While I do believe B2B Marketers need to be testing new ad formats, I’m not sure this will see wide adoption in 2011. However, if B2B marketers want to create a truly unique and highly interactive experience, then this may be an area to explore.

I continue to be very interested in the latest news and tips on Mobile for B2B Marketing . I hope this helps you to start thinking about how to get started. Let me know if I missed anything. This is a compicated and highly evolving space so would love to hear your feedback.

Read the Original Article: Business 2 Community

It’s a Mobile World, Data-Driven Marketers

Jeff Adelson-Yan | Feb 21, 2011

Well, it’s happening, mobile is taking over and to prove the point, March 2011 could be the first month when Google gets more than 10% of all paid search impressions from mobile, according to a new analysis by Performics. The report goes on to say that, “This comes on the heels of IDC’s report that smart phones outsold PCs for the first time ever in Q4 2010 (100.9 million smart phones vs. 92.1 million PCs sold worldwide). “

Hard to believe, but the data shows people are using their phones more and more for search, research and shopping.

Mobile proved to be a critical research channel in Q4 2010, with mobile CTR surpassing computer CTR across the entire period. In January we’ve seen a return to prior year comparative performance.

To allow marketers to capitalize on this shift, MediaPost reports that Google has added features like click-to-call to mobile ads. The phone number in the ad enables consumers to begin a call to a business immediately, just as they would click through to the company’s Web site. Performics predicts that mobile will also drive more than 10% of Google search clicks as well as impressions next month.

What does this mean for data-driven marketers?

• The mobile game is on. This should serve as a reminder that adding a mobile component to your campaign should no longer be small consideration. Hop to it.

• The getting is good. Mobile CPC’s while increasing, are still more affordable than computer CPCs. We do anticipate that these CPCs will rise once other competitors enter the mobile marketplace, since this area is currently less saturated than the desktop space.

• Placement is important. The amount of ads delivered may differ from phone to phone so ideally you want to be in the top two ads. This will avoid users having to scroll a long way down the page to see an ad at the bottom.

• Mobile Sites. Directing your mobile traffic to an optimized mobile site is critical for success in your mobile strategy.

HTML5 Is An Oncoming Train, But Native App Development Is An Oncoming Rocket Ship

MG SieglerFeb 9, 2011

HTML5 versus native apps. It’s a debate as old as — well, at least three years ago. And pretty much since the beginning of that debate, there has been a general underlying current among the geek community that HTML5 is good and native is bad. Native is what we have to deal with as we wait for HTML5 to prevail.

But what if that never happens?

Let’s be honest: right now, most HTML-based mobile apps are a joke when compared to their native counterparts. It’s not even remotely close. In fact, you could argue that the discrepancy isn’t much smaller than it was three years ago. And considering that the App Store was only on the verge of launching at that point, in many ways, the discrepancy is even bigger. Just look at mobile games now, for example.

Developers often state their love of HTML5 and their commitment to it going forward. But many have no choice. Native app development is not only difficult, it’s expensive.

These days, if you’re going to do native apps, you at least have to support iOS and Android. That means at least two developers for each different language, and preferably more. And if your startup is big enough or hot enough (like Foursquare, for example), you’ll probably want to have apps for Windows Phone, Blackberry, and webOS as well (which, to be fair is largely HTML-based).

Talking to developers, this is the single biggest pain point on the mobile side of things. And many talk about HTML5 as the remedy. A number now choose to build an iOS app then settle on a web app for Android at first. Others do both iPhone and Android but only offer rudimentary sites for the other platforms.

But the fact that very few, if any, choose to go HTML5-only is telling. If we were anywhere close to the language being a unifier and savior, at least some would. We’re not close.

Let’s look at the debate from the perspective of the three hottest technology companies right now: Apple, Google, and Facebook.

Apple is basically all-in on native apps. Google is half-in on native apps, half-in on HTML5. Facebook is seemingly all-in on HTML5 (at least going forward).

Apple is very interesting in this regard. When the iPhone launched in 2007, the only native apps were the ones made by them. Developers were told to build web apps in order to get on the device. Who knows if Apple planned third-party native apps all along or if they pivoted when they saw the opportunity, but a year later, we had the App Store.

It’s the single reason there’s any debate right now.

Apple is now obviously native app all the way. But it’s on their own terms. When a developer makes an app that Apple doesn’t like in some way, they recommend that they make an HTML5 app to bring it to one of their devices.

It’s more or less a “my way or the highway” approach — it’s just a nice way of putting it. Apple is using the hype around HTML5 to their advantage here. They know that those apps can’t compete with their native apps, but so many people are so bullish about the future of the technology (and, to be fair, Apple seems to be as well at least on the Safari side of things) that Apple is able to play that to their advantage.

They might as well say, “you’re welcome to build an HTML5 app *snicker*.”

Google is significantly more gray with regard to their position.

At the past two Google I/O conferences, all we’ve heard about from the search giant is HTML5-this and HTML5-that. But their actions speak louder than their words.

Google has done some great work with HTML5 — some of their mobile web apps are quite good. In fact, they’re arguably the best web apps out there. But they too are nowhere near native app good.

And take something like their Jules Verne logo today — it utilized the iPhone’s accelerometer via the HTML5 baked into Safari to move around. Very cool. But would anyone have thought twice about it if it were a part of a native app? No.

It seems like Google is well aware of this native app/HTML5 app discrepancy. That’s why we’re seeing an increasing number of their once HTML-based apps going native. And it’s not only on their own Android platform, but on the iPhone as well.

And that’s not all. Recent reports underscore Google going a bit native app crazy. There’s apparently a big push inside the company to hire any good app developers that they can get their hands on. And they’re even offering for them to work inside Google as their own startups. Essentially, it sounds like the Googleplex is becoming an app incubator of sorts. One that pays a salary.

But wait, this is Google. Again, aren’t they supposed to be the main torchbearers of the HTML5 movement? Yes. But they’ve also been hedging their bet this entire time. That’s exactly why development of both Android and Chrome OS has continued totally separate from one another.

Chrome OS, an operating system built entirely around HTML5 is still very much in beta mode. Android, an operating system built entirely around native apps is exploding with growth. Which would you back right now?

And then there’s Facebook.

Speaking at the Inside Social Apps conference last month, Facebook CTO Bret Taylor made it very clear that HTML5 is a the key focus for the social network in 2011. He reiterated as much to me when I spoke with him afterwards.

In fact, Facebook is so committed to HTML5 that they’re going to be offering tools to their broad development community in order to help them bring their apps up to speed. Most significantly, this includes games, which are today largely based on Flash.

Taylor echoed the hardships that startups face with mobile development across several platforms these days. Facebook, while much larger than a typical startup, still works in relatively small teams. And while he said that structural changes would help in 2011, they too are betting that HTML5 isthe ultimate unifier.

Facebook has an odd history in the mobile app space. When the iPhone first launched, they had easily the best mobile web-based app — which was developed by Joe Hewitt. When native apps were finally allowed, Hewitt built that as well, and again, it was clearly one of the best apps available (and the top downloaded app of all time for iOS).

Then Hewitt decided he was fed up with some of the App Store rules. So he stopped doing iOS work. The Facebook app stood neglected for quite some time. And while it’s better today, it still has the same basic look and feel of the app that Hewitt built.

Meanwhile, on the Android side of things, it has been a nightmare. The Facebook Android app has long been a joke when compared to its iPhone brother. Facebook keeps slowly improving it, but it’s still not as good.

On the tablet side of things, Taylor said the iPad was an unfortunate casualty of Facebook’s lack of mobile team structure leading up to that device’s launch. He spoke about the importance of havinga tablet-optimized version of the service soon.

That seemed to indicate that this would be an HTML5-based web app. But I’ve heard reports from two different sources that Facebook has been internally testing a native iPad app in recent months.

Maybe they won’t release such an app. And maybe they take an HTML5-only approach to tablets. But I certainly wouldn’t bet against a native iPad app. And maybe one optimized for Honeycomb as well.

It sounds as if Facebook is all about HTML5 — except when native apps offer a better experience. Which, love it or hate it, is still always.

And such a stance is more or less the attitude that everyone with the necessary resources seems to have. And that’s the point. After all these months and years, we’re still debating the HTML5 versus native app thing — but it still has yet to be a contest.

Everyone seems to pay HTML5 plenty of lip-service. But look at their actions. Apple, Google, Facebook, and developers are all focusing on native apps, not HTML5 apps.

And look at the platform pipelines. Android is (finally) about to get in-app purchasing. iOS is likely to (finally) get a revamped Push Notification system with the next iteration of iOS. Android Honeycomb will offer developers a whole new set of tools and APIs. Both platforms are likely toexpand quickly into NFC and everything that can offer.

All of that will be native app only. And that’s just the tip of the iceberg. It was actually Hewitt who said it best when he ripped the state of web development a new one last year with a series of tweets. The best was: “I want desperately to be a web developer again, but if I have to wait until 2020 for browsers to do what Cocoa can do in 2010, I won’t wait.”

If HTML5 is an oncoming train, native app development is an oncoming rocket ship. And everyone seems to know that’s not going to change anytime soon. Even if they don’t want to admit it, their native apps speak for them.

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