It’s official: Tablets, and more versions than just the iPad, have taken off. The iPad still has the tablet market largely cornered, but other makers have devices that are poised to rival the slim giant, and at a range of price points. Those who choose tablets tend to have disposable income, and are often young men who consider themselves early adopters. Some of the top reasons that people choose tablets are the ability to download apps and stream digital content, the wide array of games, social networking functionalities, the capacity to read newspapers and magazines and device portability. Nearly half of tablet owners reported using the tablet devices for personal or business purposes, or for posting comments to others’ blogs at least once a month.
Since tablets are becoming so common in the corporate culture, especially when it comes to corporate blogging, social networks and streaming media—in addition to being a class of major entertainment devices—it’s in the best interest of corporations to tailor content to the tablet customer. Bypass the tablet market, and you just may miss connecting with your users at work and at play.
Types of Content to Consider
As the needs and desires of tablets users suggest, consumers are using the devices in a wide range of ways, which means that companies must prepare and deliver targeted content across several media platforms. When planning a tablet approach, consider developing content including:
- Video content, especially short videos
- Blog posts
- Games
- Audio content, such as podcasts or audio recordings
- Web content that is optimized for tablet and mobile devices
Bottom line — any content you provide should be clearly accessible via tablet.
The Tablet Interface
Designing for a tablet interface does mean making some choices that can be challenging. Due to the small screen size, you just won’t be able to just push your Web content to a tablet device. To ensure the best user experience for tablet devices, you’ve got to tweak your content so it works across each application. For example, the gesture to delete content on a Blackberry is not the same gesture as on the iPhone. When it comes time to design, you’ll need to bone up on the user interface and UX guidelines of each device. As a general theory, think about what tablet users need and want–such as gameplay, social content and straightforward content like directions or business hours–then map and develop content accordingly, and allot premium space for graphics.
Tablet Traffic
Once you roll out content, you’ll want to monitor traffic. Some Web traffic monitors, including the free Google Analytics, give you the ability to filter incoming traffic by screen size. By filtering for mobile content, you’ll be able to see how much traffic you receive for smartphones and tablets. You’ll also be able to tell what pages were viewed, what keywords brought traffic, and how popular content is. If mobile users most frequently access video content, that sends a clear message to your content development team. Compendium provides a formula that can help narrow mobile users down to just tablet device users.
If you’re not thinking about mobile and tablet users, it’s time to develop your game plan. The market is poised to keep growing, especially as devices fall in price. Mobile traffic will become impossible to ignore, promises Marketing Insider. You don’t want to be left behind.