The mobile space continues to evolve and grow rapidly. In fact, the adoption of iPads over the first 10 quarters on the market has outpaced that of iPhones and iPods combined over their first 10 quarters [1]. Despite the dramatic rate of mobile adoption we’ve seen so far, there remains plenty of room for growth. After all, there are only 1 billion total smartphone users out of the 5 billion total mobile phone users globally. That number should rise significantly should the global smartphone and tablet market exceed that of PCs in 2013 as predicted.1
With all of this growth in the mobile space, it’s imperative for businesses, and their leadership and marketing and communications teams to recognize how users access and consume content continues to fundamentally shift, and quickly. For example, it’s no longer enough to have one version of your website, or even a desktop version and a mobile version. ‘Responsive web design’ accounts for the many different screen sizes, adapting in real-time to the device the content is viewed on. Numerous popular media and news outlets have already transitioned from outdated websites lacking functionality to websites using responsive design – one recent example is the major website overhaul of Mashable, an online news site covering digital culture – and this rate of transformation will spread into other marketplaces as dynamic shifts in information consumption continue.
No matter what changes take place in the way media is accessed, ensuring your organization’s voice can be found and heard is essential. Increasingly, mobile technology and responsive web design are important pieces of the digital communications puzzle.
