Businesses Adapt to Consumer Phone Usage

It’s no surprise that people are using their mobile devices now more than ever. While traditional calls and texts are still a big part of what people are doing, some suggest that people are starting to use smartphones in lieu of tablets and other similar smart devices. Considering that those who aren’t content creators don’t need much in the way of screen real estate, it’s relatively easy for people to ditch their tablets all together and scroll on their phones for a longer period of time than ever before.

At least one study claims that Americans may look at their phones for more than three hours every day. Regardless of the obvious health effects of this, an increasingly large percentage of business managers are saying that they need to figure out some way to reach customers who might be droning out any messages from the world around them. While these consumers do represent a captive audience, they’re notoriously difficult to reach because they’re exposed to an untold number of marketing messages at all times.

Reaching High Screen Time Consumers

Traditional solutions like search engine optimization are not only still vital, but they’re arguably more important than ever. With a sizable cross-section of these users relying on their devices’ built-in browsers, there’s a high probability that many of them will come across sites by way of search. If a particular resource isn’t optimized, then it’d be difficult for anyone to locate it using a traditional browser. While it’s clear that countless firms continue to rush to develop their own apps, there’s no reason for people to abandon the web just yet. Likewise, blog marketing is probably going to drive a lot of traffic from those who rely on their phones for almost all digital transactions.

Nevertheless, this has little to do with any of these users actually reading interesting pieces on blogs that they visit. Rather, consumers may be searching for a good or service online and their search app will lock onto anchor terms in a given article. Realizing that they’ve found someone who is willing and able to provide the service they’re looking for, these consumers will more than likely tap the company’s homepage rather than reading any posts. While companies have found that they need to write excellent content in order to get search engines to latch onto what they’re writing, many mobile device-tethered consumers will spend less than a minute reading anything they happen to come across. Though it might seem like anyone taking time to write decent content is therefore wasting time, the exact opposite is actually true.

Why Content Will Always Be King

Firms that are struggling to adapt to increased amounts of screen time will find themselves in competition with a great number of other businesses in the exact same position. People who are given a huge choice of what to consume will only cling to content that personally interests them. That’s why business managers have been doing their best to fine-tune all of their offerings, especially if they plan on having any chance to stand out against a background of what’s essentially virtual noise. Banks are refining their user experience, sports sites are acquiring the best bookie software they can find and blogs are finding new writers for the same exact reason.

Video content is changing in much the same way. As people spend a greater portion of their day staring at screens, there’s a greater chance that they’ll get off of any video that doesn’t immediately grab them. Even financial advisors are starting to realize they’re forced to compete for what little time smartphone users have to offer them.

Consumers, meanwhile, are getting the better end of the bargain Financial service apps are providing a more accurate feed of information than ever before. It’s likely that the rest of the industry is going to follow. Those operating eCommerce firms have gotten in on the act as well by focusing on their unique selling propositions while downplaying any of their negatives.

Naturally, it’s been difficult for many businesses to adapt to a changing economic climate, but those who’ve made even a few small alterations have found that they’re able to draw back customers they would have otherwise lost to the phosphorescent glow of their neon screens.