In a recent interview with Greg Stuart, the global head of the Mobile Marketing Association, Stuart said, “2011 was the year when mobile really began to hit its stride.” I think we can all agree the time for early adoption is over, and mobile is officially mainstream and now.
With over 324 million handsets sold in 2011, the mobile penetration rate in the country increased to over 100 percent (yes, this means there are more active cellphones than people). In addition, the mobile medium outpaced its predecessor, print, with U.S. adults spending more than 10 percent of their time on mobile, as opposed to just 4 percent for newspapers and 2.8 percent for magazines. Why? A lot of the print publications are now available to us through our mobile devices.
However, the part of the article I found most interesting was when asked about the impact tablets would have on brands in the marketplace, there was no definitive answer. Stuart simply stated, “The tablet is going to be a huge part of the future of mobile, and will have a big influence on how brands and sellers approach marketing.”
It seems to me that most brands, real estate being no exception, are missing the boat on the emergence of tablets, and the ability to create an even more engaging experience on this device than on a mobile device with all the same added benefits. What I am getting at here is that the tablet device is a hybrid between the PC and the smartphone. This means you can leverage features like GPS, touch screen and mapping to create a more engaging experience for your consumer.
In addition, this can only be done through the Internet—no downloadable app needed. You simply need to take the same approach you took when creating a unique experience tailored to mobile phone users. You need to provide an equal, if not greater, experience for the tablet users who visit your website.
Don’t lose the eyeballs your website already captures from tablet users to a third party app—there is no reason why you can’t provide your visitors with an equal or greater experience while keeping your brand top of mind.
For more information on how you can optimize your website for tablet devices, contact tabletidx@mobilecardcast.com.
Seth Kaplan is president of Mobile Real Estate ID. For more information, please visit www.mobilerealestateid.com.
