Google #5: You Don’t Need to be at Your Desk to Need an Answer

Mobile is no longer a “shiny new object.” It’s the norm. In fact, mobile Internet usage now exceeds PC Internet usage (source)

We continue our discussion of Google’s 10 Things We Know to be True, with #5: You don’t need to be at your desk to need an answer.

Google writes:

The world is increasingly mobile: people want access to information wherever they are, whenever they need it. We’re pioneering new technologies and offering new solutions for mobile services that help people all over the globe to do any number of tasks on their phone, from checking email and calendar events to watching videos.

The topic in this series comes at the perfect time as Google has announced they will be factoring mobile-friendliness into their mobile search results starting April 21. Websites that are not mobile friendly will appear lower in the results for people searching on a mobile device and lose visitors as a result.

What does the trend towards mobile mean for your church, school, nonprofit or business?

1) Make your website mobile-friendly, aka responsive. (See Responsive Design: What Is It and Why It Is Important?)

2) Make your email newsletters mobile-friendly. 66% of all email is read on a phone or tablet. (source)  You want your subscribers to be able to read them.

3) Make your website content mobile-friendly. What do people want when they’re on their phones and tablets? A phone number and address if they’re trying to contact or visit you. Beyond that, people listen to more audio and watch more video on mobile devices than computers, so consider putting more audio and video on your site.

4) Make use of texting. US smartphone owners who use text (that’s 92 percent) send an average of 111 messages per week, and 49 percent of those who use social media daily would rather text than call a person. Most organizations send regular enewsletters to subscribers. The next step is to send regular texts to a text list, and to respond to questions and comments via text.

5) Think globally.  In the last several years, billions of people around the world who never had access to the Internet before, began using the Internet through their phones.  A few years ago while in Kenya on a missions trip, I saw first hand that even the poorest people in the most remote places are texting and accessing the Internet through their phones. Are you trying to connect with them?

Discuss

• What changes do you see in the shift towards mobile communications?
• What changes have you and your organization made to connect with people via mobile?
• What questions do you have about mobile and your organization?