With the new year comes new opportunities to promote your business. It’s amazing to see how far Internet development, in particular, has come in the last decade. Where once companies relied heavily upon print advertising and TV/radio ads, now the tide is turning toward Internet spends, Web development, and social media. In the last decade alone, we’ve seen the focus shift from SEO web content to PPC to Twitter and Facebook, and now emphasis is placed on mobile development.
What’s that? Your website does not have a mobile version ready? You realize you could potentially lose a number of customers and leads without mobile adaptability, right? You might feel reluctant to invest in a mobile version of your site because it might require a complete overhaul of your current online look and feel. In truth, there are ways for mobile browsers to call up your site and see a clean version without too much re-coding. Specific CMS programs like WordPress, for example, have plugins that allow webmasters to offer a mobile interface without disturbing the main site. A seasoned developer and designer, too, can help with a redirect if you are using a customized content management system.
Still not convinced that you need to go mobile in the new year? Consider this:
1) It is estimated that as of July, 2011 there are over 82 million subscribers in the United States to some type of smart phone service. This means that nearly 100 million Americans have either an iPhone, an Android, or another brand of smart phone with Web search capability. If you’ve been to your favorite cafe or hangout lately, you’ve noticed that people are using their gadgets for more than talking to friends. They are looking up movie times, directions to restaurants, and even buying products. That’s right – anybody can call up an app to shop for books, electronics, clothing…anything at all. If you have a cart on your website, it needs to have a mobile plugin to catch those impulse shoppers.
2) Mobile isn’t going away. People want information faster…and they want it now. If you own a smart phone, how often do you call up information on the browser merely because you’re thinking about it? It’s something I do often – I’ll sit with my husband at a restaurant talking about a movie or a sports team, and the next thing you know I’m looking up information to jar our memories about an actor’s name or World Series results. When people know they can access what they need that quickly, you know it’s important to make your presence live so people can find you in that same manner.
We don’t know what the next decade will bring in terms of sharing information, but one thing is certain – mobile technology can help widen your audience and appeal. Make this year’s resolution to increase your visibility via mobile browsing. It’s affordable, and you can’t afford not to do it.
