Touch Over Click, Watch Over Read, How Mobile Is Taking Over

People have become dependent on having quick access to reliable information. Now that tablets and smartphones are taking over, they’ve made it possible for even faster access to the internet, apps, email and just about everything imaginable, at anytime, anywhere.

Someday soon, most everyone will have a tablet, a smartphone, or both.

According to a recent study by the Pew Internet & Life Project, over 30% of adults in America own tablets. Nearly half of all adults between the ages of 35 and 44 own a tablet. The study also revealed that people with higher education and a higher income are more likely to have a tablet than others.

Topping off the tablet addiction is an obsession with smartphones. A hefty 61% of mobile phone users have a smartphone. Think way back to the days when having a cell phone was thought of as a luxury instead of a necessity. It didn’t take long for them to become affordable and easily accessible to most. Tablets and smartphones are getting more and more inexpensive and more and more common.

How people prefer to acquire information is changing.

With more and more people bringing tablets and smartphones into their lives, it’s causing a shift in how people prefer to obtain information. While reading stories, blogs and news online used to be the common way, these days it seems that watching videos is preferred to having to sit and spend time reading about something. It’s slightly sad that everyone is in such a mode of constant rush that even reading is becoming taboo; however, getting maximizing every second of life is the wave of the future.

That mouse is on its way out of the house.

Another time-saver that’s growing in popularity is the touch-screen. While touchpads have been used for years, touch screens are starting to be the common desire. Smartphones and tablets offer the ease of simply using one finger to tap on wherever it is that you want to go. Pretty soon we may be saying so long to the mouse. And, although there’s something to be said about having an actual keyboard especially for those who write or calculate much of the time, tablets are a more compact, inexpensive, lightweight way to have most of the commonly used functions of a laptop or desktop all in the palms of your hands.

Increased tablet and smartphone usage means mobile marketing is more important than ever before.

Since smartphones allow the most flexibility for on the go users, mobile marketing has fast become one of the best ways to reach consumers. One difficulty with smartphones however is that the screens are rather small and text often comes across as microscopic nonsense. Many people prefer watching a video clip and hearing someone tell a story versus having to read it – which usually involves zooming in and scanning around the screen to be able to read all of the words. This is partly why having a mobile-friendly site has become imperative to capturing the largest audience. If people can’t quickly access and read the information you have available, they’ll go somewhere else where they can and, presto, a potential lead is gone.

Tablet users are typically more static than those on their smartphones. Tablets are great for travel, sitting on your couch, at your desk, in a meeting, etcetera, but smartphones have practically become another limb for most people. Because of the differences in smartphones and tablets, mobile marketing should be aimed appropriately at the two.

Getting messages across in a short but captivating way has started a new craze.

Since videos have continued to grow in popularity, the latest, greatest way to give a snapshot of yourself, your product, your business, whatever, is to share super short looping videos. Topsy Analytics reports that Vine, an app that allows mobile users to create, edit and share short video clips, has passed up Instagram in popularity with more links posted to Twitter.This new way to make a real, lasting, visually stimulating impression in only a few seconds has caught on…big-time. Advertisers such as Target have already jumped onboard and are likely there to stay.

Successful mobile marketing means that you need to keep up with the trends of social media or hire someone who does.

The ever-changing world of social media is sometimes tough to keep up with and won’t ever stop changing. One of the best ways to make sure that your making the most of mobile marketing is to be familiar with using your own smartphone and tablet on a day-to-day basis. You’ll learn what works for you and what is a waste of time. If you just don’t have the time to think about it, hiring a professional to manage your online presence is critical. Take the time to figure out what works best for you and your business. The millions of people who have gone mobile will thank you for it and so will your bottom line.