For the past 5 years or so, research has predicted that mobile devices would overtake personal computers when it comes to internet usage. The infographic in this blog post pulls together data that shows that the turning point is here now. The Post-PC Revolution infographic was created by Moovweb, a company that has released a “Post-PC cloud-based Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS) that syncs content, features and business logic across all Web experiences - in real time.”

Looking at your own company or business, you’ll likely only need to ask yourself one question,

“Am I ready for my customers to engage with me via mobile devices?”

In another recent post of mine, I’ve identified why your business should go mobile and the best practices around it.

Below are some interesting statistics from the infographic:

• There are currently more than 1,038,000,000 smartphones in use (1 out of every 6.7 people on Earth).
• 79% will abandon your business’s website if it’s not optimized for mobile.
• Media tablet sales will likely increase from 118.9 million in 2012 to 369.2 million by 2016.
• 52% of retailers do not have a mobile website experience (You’re not alone!)
• Amazon.com will reach 4 billion dollars in mobile sales by end of 2012.
• 1 in 8 will use mobile tickets for airlines, rail and bus travel, festivals, cinemas, and sports events in 2015.
• Only 22% of insurers have a mobile quoting app.
• Mobile banking will increase from 47 million users in 2012 to 61 million users in 2013.

The Post-PC Revolution Infographic:

Infographic by Moovweb

Originally posted here at USSCOSpeaks.com

It is not surprising that mobile searches have grown four times since 2010 (Google Mobile Optimization Webinar, 2011).

Take a look around at all the devices that have been released out into the marketplace. Between tablets, WIFI connected music players, and phones, everyone can be connected online 24/7. This means that wherever your customers are, they have the option to do business with you. Believe the data, your customers are exercising that option daily. This year, more people will use their mobile phones to get online, rather than using their PCs (Gartner, 2010). By 2015, there will be more than one mobile device for every person on earth (Cisco, 2011). Still think it’s going away?

What this means for businesses is that if you aren’t optimizing the mobile experience, then you’re likely losing customers. A bad user experience is an outdated website that makes your customers pinch, zoom, and navigate across your site. According to Google in 2012, 61% of your customers say that they will quickly move to another site if they don’t see what they are looking for right away on a mobile site. A good user experience is a fixed mobile stylized site that quickly and easily allows customers to navigate to the right pages with only a few thumb taps. In the same study, 67% of customers say a mobile-friendly site makes them more likely to buy a product or use a service.

Okay, so you agree with the data and believe that you need to take action to take advantage of this opportunity. What’s the next step? It’s important to first understand what makes a great mobile experience. Below is a quick list of mobile site best practices, according to Google…

• Keep it Quick
• Simply Navigation
• Be Thumb-Friendly
• Design for Visibility
• Make it Accessible
• Make it Easy to Convert
• Make it Local
• Make it Seamless
• Use Mobile Site Redirects
• Listen, Learn and Iterate

You can also download Google’s Mobile Site Best Practices PDF here.

Once you’ve outlined your mobile site structure and decided how you want your customers to interact with you, it’s time to build your mobile site. There are both free options and paid options. Free services such as DudaMobile allow you to enter your URL and it pulls information off your website. It’s not perfect so be prepared to spend some time customizing and changing what pages you wish to show up. You might also want to explore bMobilized, a similar service. Of course, you can also work with a mobile developer to build a mobile friendly or responsive website. Responsive website refers to a website that automatically renders to the device and screen resolution.

Regardless of the direction you choose, hopefully you’ve learned about some of the major benefits of being mobile accessible to your customers online.

A recent infographic by Mogreet, a leader in mobile video and MMS messaging, stacks up the usage and engagement of SMS & MMS mobile communication against social media’s top players Facebook, Twitter, Google+, and Pinterest. They separate the two into what they call Narrowcast and Broadcast.

Narrowcasting is the sharing of information directly to its intended recipient, thereby breaking through all of the clutter. Broadcasting is the mass public sharing, such as a post or tweet. The infographic supports that you’re not only more likely to reach your audience but they’ll be more apt to respond when you do it. This conclusion is drawn from some very interesting statistics.

What does this mean for marketers?

SMS and MMS are powerful marketing tactics that can get your message directly to your audience and more importantly, they’ll see it. What is the average click rate of your last email? It’s unlikely it was above 15%. If it was, you’re part of the lucky minority. How many people viewed your Facebook page? Yes, you can see that now.  Tweets go by even faster. How many of those get a mention or retweet? According to the infographic, 98% of all SMS and MMS messages are opened. That’s a remarkable percentage and clearly demonstrates how much this medium is valued.

Build a Personal Touch-point with Your Loyal Customers

Recently I was talking with the owner of a small family restaurant in my area. They were experimenting with SMS messaging. At first, it was slow going collecting their customer’s information but after a while of asking nicely, displaying signs, and not abusing those already in the program, they started to get a good base of numbers. The owner has had great success with using this channel in a number of ways. In fact, it has become their primary means of communication that trumps email, social, and traditional advertising.

Here shows how they are using SMS messaging.

• Timely deals - Restaurants have predictable, and sometimes non-predictable, slow times that sack profit. Instead of making employees go home early, they send out a promotion offering a discount within the next few hours.
• Upcoming events - If you’re a local business then you know how valuable it is to be involved in the community. They announce where they’ll be and what they’ll be promoting. This is also a great way to include your partners and benefit from each others audiences.
• Special Announcements - Nobody can predict the future and sometimes weather or other events cause a change in regular business. They use the SMS channel to instantly inform their customers if they are closing early, not open on particular day, or a change in staff.

Below is the infographic titled “Is Bigger Always Better?”

Infographic by Mogreet

The recent popularity of smartphones and tablet computers has led to an influx of mobile web traffic. On any given day, more and more of a site’s traffic will come from mobile users. In this ever-changing technological climate it is now more important than ever to provide mobile users with a compatible, easy to use mobile site. Failing to adapt is sure to lead to a decrease in traffic and resultant financial loss. The following reasons will illustrate the need for a mobile version of a website.

1.  Desktop Versions Look Sloppy on Mobile Devices
The web was not set up to be used by mobile devices. Even the most beautifully designed site looks awful on a four inch screen. Links can overlap, making it nearly impossible for touch screen users to click on anything. Graphics look distorted. Important information at the top, bottom and sides of the page can be obliterated. A desktop website viewed on a mobile device looks like a mess. Site visitors will become easily frustrated and find a comparable mobile enabled site to complete their tasks.

2.  Ordering is Close to Impossible
If the site relies on online orders for revenue, the need for a mobile accompaniment increases ten-fold. No longer is the site losing viewers for lack of a mobile version; now it is losing actual money. Filling out an order form on a desktop site with no mobile component is practically impossible. Tablets are quickly replacing laptops and desktops; many people have done away with large and cumbersome computers entirely. For many, ordering from a desktop is not even an option. The lack of a mobile site will result in sales losses as customers take their business to a competitor.

3. A Mobile Site Can Garner Notice
Google supplies a separate index for mobile sites. Since the mobile bandwagon is fairly new, this index is comparatively empty. Those searching for a mobile site on a mobile device will be shown far less options than those using a desktop. Sites with mobile components are therefore far more likely to climb to the top of a Google search.

4. Mobile Advertising is the Wave of the Future
Mobile advertising is expected to surpass $6.5 billion this year. A well-visited mobile site can earn a fair share of advertising revenue, especially when the market is currently wide open. Mobile advertising is expected to grow exponentially over the next ten years and a successful business would be wise to get in on the ground floor of this boom.

Do you have a mobile version of your website?

A colleague of mine recently introduced me to a marketing tool to engage with mobile customers and prospects.

It’s called the SnapTag, powered by SpyderLynk.

With the rise of mobile smart phones usage, readable codes have gained popularity among marketers as a unique way to engage with customers and prospects. Many companies have had success by getting their audience to scan with their mobile phones and submit their contact info for a contest, donate to a charity, or simply visit the brand’s website.

One problem is that these scanable codes are visually non-descriptive of the product or company. Although codes, the QR code seemingly becoming the most popular, work when scanned by an mobile smart phone, there isn’t anything to distinguish one brand from another. They ‘re mostly random dots, squares, or other shapes.

The SnapTag is a solution to that problem. How would you like to have your logo the code? How would you like to add some brand awareness points to your marketing dashboard?