The Pew Internet & American Life Project released new figures on teenagers and text messaging.  Here are some interesting stats from the study:

• 75% of 12-17 year-olds now own cell phones
• 88% of teen cell phone users send text messages
• Half of teens send 50 or more text messages a day
• One in three teens sends more than 100 text messages a day

So what does this mean to marketers? That the cell phone has become the direct marketing channel for the next generation of consumers. If you can develop a campaign that capitalizes on the small screen that 75% of teens today carry with them at all times, you can capture tomorrow’s consumer.

Granted, this is only one piece of the marketing pie, but its importance can no longer be ignored or denied. It’s time to start thinking mobile now so your company is ahead of the game tomorrow.

You’ve spent a long time working through your marketing plan. Everything seems to be in order. You’re all ready to present it for approval. So the last thing to do before you walk into that meeting is…

Make a flow chart. Yes, time to brush off those circle and line drawing abilities because if it’s not visual, it’s just words on a page.

I find it useful to draw out all the channels, lines of connection, and examples of content that drives those connections for people to see. That way everyone understands what you mean by “the Twitter feed will drive traffic to the blog.”

Besides being a helpful tool for explaining your plan to others, it’s also a great way to check that each channel has a purpose and goal that has some measure for success. It may be low-tech, but it may save you from a high-tech blunder.