According to a July 11, 2011 study, the Pew Internet and American Life Project reports that 35% of American Adults own a smart phone. They also state that 87% of those users also access the Internet or email on their phones. In March of 2010, Nielsen reported that Smartphones will overtake Feature Phones by 2011.
(Read the Pew report at http://pewinternet.org/Reports/2011/Smartphones.aspx and the Nielsen report at http://blog.nielsen.com/nielsenwire/consumer/smartphones-to-overtake-feature-phones-in-u-s-by-2011/)
So what? Well, in my opinion, the so what is that you need to have your online marketing materials available in a format that is easily viewable by a user with a smart phone. Ever tried to view a website on your phone that has not been optimized for a smartphone? If not, go give it a try.
(Try http://www.nielsen.com on your smart phone for a bit of irony)
Now that I’ve made my point, let’s talk about your listings. Are they mobile optimized? If not, I found a free way for you to get that handled. Go to http://vyoo.it and follow the four simple steps.
Essentially you provide the URL of your listing online and it will create a mobile friendly site for you. (If you don’t have a website for your listing, they offer to link you to Postlets where you can create one. The folks behind Vyoo.it are the folks who developed Postlets) You then give it some info, select the pictures that you want to use and it will create the site. They will also give you a cool shortened URL to use as well as a QR code. They offer to sell you stickers, sign riders and postcards that feature the QR code and shortened URL. The site is ad supported, and some of you may not like their Terms of Service, so be sure to read them.
The site is smart enough to know when it is being viewed by a regular browser and not a mobile one, and in that case it redirects the viewer to your listing’s online web site. You can scan the QR code here to see the site or you can go to: http://vyoo.it/ucwcp on your smartphone.
I like the idea of custom sign riders, and they have done a good job on the ones that they offer, so be sure to check them out. What do you think? Do you think that it is necessary to have mobile optimized sites? Why or why not?
