With the launch of 4G mobile internet in the UK two weeks ago, the gap between content for desktop and mobile applications seemed to narrow. Having ‘everything everywhere’ is now a possibility (I’m not here to comment on whether that’s happening or not), and this heralds a great opportunity for marketers to use this communications platform to promote their products in new and exciting ways.

It’s widely known that speed has always been the issue for mobile, lagging behind static internet by some considerable margin. That hasn’t stopped consumers expecting more from mobile internet, however. In 2011, before 4G arrived, 71% of users (PDF) expected a site to load as fast on a mobile as on a desktop.

While delivering content in a timely way is ever-more important in a highly competitive market – every second after the first two seconds will lose you 6% of users (PDF) – delivering engaging and high impact content is key to driving sales and revenue.

Which brings us to mobile video.

It’s widely accepted that video content on a website will dramatically increase the site’s ‘stickiness’, engaging users and increasing the time they spend on your website by more than two minutes, compared with sites without video.

And with mobile browsing poised to overtake desktop browsing within two years, marketers should embrace instead of shy away from new technology.

In a world where your customer’s attention is competed for by a huge range of competitors across a wide range of channels, grabbing their attention and holding it is key to success.

Research shows that using new technology to deliver content in new and exciting ways is certainly the best way to differentiate your brand, gain recognition and deliver competitive advantage.

But research also shows that marketers need to focus very closely on minimising load times while maximising customer engagement with strong and impactful messages.