Enable those platforms:
Tablet sales surpassed sales of PCs in 2011 and mobile use has rocketed. Mobile and tablet searches now account for up to 30% of all searches (restaurants and local searches ranking highest) and social media site use on those platforms is. Americans are using their PCs ever less, yet a significant number of businesses still don’t offer an optimised cross-platform experience: ever look up a restaurant or hotel to find a blank page with an error message because it’s in Flash? Far too many sites are still not designed with the newly dominant platforms in mind. That’s a sure way of driving users to the competition.
Revisit your marketing budget:
Only 8% of our time is spent reading print publications. Yet old habits die hard- businesses still allocate a disproportionate average of 28% of their marketing dollars on print. Don’t listen to the naysayers- regardless of your industry, your customers are not living in 1980; they use the Internet and social media. You should too. Work with a professional to allot a portion of your dollars for online advertising on the major platforms. Over time, you will find what is most successful for your brand at a fraction of the cost of traditional media.
Go social: Enable your customers to be brand ambassadors
Even if your product wasn’t just featured on Good Morning America and endorsed by Michelle Obama last week your brand still has a story to tell. But you must create fresh, compelling content that your customers and followers will want to share with others. Video is a powerful tool; studies show customers are many times more likely to watch video than read text. Yet few businesses utilize it to its potential.
Yet content alone isn’t enough. You must make it easy to share your news, updates and articles with others on social media platforms. Even a small website can now incorporate easy plug-ins that allow sharing across social platforms. Not only will Google’s new algorithm reward you in search rankings, your customers will as well as they will be more engaged. You will build a community of followers that creates a virtuous cycle of reinforcement.
The web of the past is dead. It has radically and rapidly evolved from a relatively static tool to a dynamic and interactive medium. For those businesses seeking to succeed, the gauntlet has been cast…
Philip Guarino is a Boston World Partnerships Connector and the founder of Elementi Consulting, a Boston-based consulting firm specialized in business strategy and market development. Elementi helps companies succeed in international business development, digital strategy and multi-channel marketing.
Article source: http://www.boston.com/business/blogs/global-business-hub/2012/06/the_web_is_dead.html