Technology is ever evolving.
If you can think back to a few decades, and at the same time take a look at what is happening right now, you will notice that technology is at its highest ever, even since the creation of the world.
New mobile devices are being released daily as if it is paper that is being manufactured, and the public is so receptive to the evolvement of technology that there’s no sign of things slowing down soon.
The problem, however, is that when you read most technology blogs you’re only told about the latest mobile release or that new device everyone is talking about.
You’re hardly given any practical tips on how to turn that into fuel for success in any area of your life, and it is for that same reason I’m writing this article right now.
I run an accounting site that help people prepare for their cpa examination class, and even though the blog is in the accounting niche, it is going greatly thanks to smart use of technology.
Who says technology is only useful for the geeks?! Why not leverage it for your business?
This article will be sharing 4 ways I use technology to grow my CPA exam website, as well as a few pointers on how you can do the same.
1. Offering a Free iPad
The iPad is one of the trending mobile devices in the world right now, especially with the recent release of the iPad 3.
Have you ever thought about using the iPad or any great recently popular mobile device to attract attention to your business?
We offer various courses to students in the accounting field, and we offer an iPad to new students who make a purchase.
One thing is very important to note here, though. Giving a technology device to your audience just because you want them to buy won’t work, but the device you’re giving to them must complement what you sell.
There was a recent study that proved that the iPad is one of the mobile devices that makes studying easier for students, even compared to other tablets and mobile devices.
Aside from the fancy design and interface, the study observed that 20% more students scored “advanced” or “proficient” scores when compared to their counterparts using a textbook.
That study alone proves that the iPad makes studying easier and fun for students, making it easy for them to pass their exams, thus our reason for deciding to offer it as an incentive.
Lesson: Look for a device that complements what you’re selling; look for data and studies that prove the effectiveness of your device in your field, and offer the device as an incentive to use your service.
You remember I said earlier that our service is to students, so what better device to give them than an iPad?
2. Leveraging the Power of Mobile and Apps
A lot of changes have been happening in the mobile sphere lately, and these changes are so profound that I think no one should ignore them.
The mobile device is becoming so popular right now that it is predicted to exceed computer internet usage in 2014; that’s just two year from now.
Furthermore, over 300,000 apps have been released in the past 3 years, and these apps have been downloaded around 11 billion times. That’s a whooping 11 billion downloads in 3 years, and it will be very wrong to ignore this growing trend!
The fact is, people spend more time on their mobile phones, specifically on their apps, than on their computers.
Think about it! They have their mobile phone around them every time, even when they want to sleep, and they have these apps installed on their mobile phones.
This is one area we noticed, and that we decided to capitalize on when developing our site for our students.
Instead of having to visit our site every day, they can simply do whatever they want to with our app, without having to even launch their browser.
Lesson: Mobile brings comfort, and it enables flexibility. If you’re a blogger or business owner of any form, a lot of your readers are on mobile right now, and one of the best way to connect with them is to have an app of your own.
3. Allowing Support for Any Device
When looking for a way to get your message across to various audiences, what you’ll often here from people is to adapt the responsive design technology. While that sounds like a smart idea, I think you can do something better.
I think you can allow support for any device.
That’s what we did with our CPA exam site, so that students can access the website from anywhere without having to worry about experiencing issues with our site, and here’s our reason for doing so.
In a recent .net magazine article, popular entrepreneur and web designer is quoted, saying:
“The most popular size is every size. If you’re not thinking in a mobile-first, content-first way, if you’re not planning an adaptive or responsive redesign, if you still think we have a standard canvas that ‘everybody’ uses, and if you can’t feel the hot breath of mobile singeing the hairs on the back of your neck, you don’t deserve to be a designer, or a consultant, or whatever these people think they are.”
You see what I mean?
The most popular size is every size, so why bother adapting your site to mobile or a particular resolution when it can be everything.
Lesson: Accessibility is key to business success online, and your audience should be able to reach your website from anywhere with relative ease. Get in touch with your designer to see if they can help you implement a design that is accessible via every device, and you’ll be surprised at the kind of huge progress you’ll experience after making that change.
4. Using Smart Web Design to Organize Content on my Website
This final point is very important.
No matter how great technology is right now, organization is very important, and it has always been since the beginning of the world.
That’s why we have kings and chiefs, that’s why we have presidents, and that’s why there are various kinds of computers.
You can use this principle for your website, and tap into the great psychological principle of human nature.
One major rule of thumb for our CPA website is to make it as organized as possible; on each page and the homepage, and the results from this has been great.
Lesson: Technology is important, but organization will help you get the best from technology. Make use of effective organization in every aspect of your business to increase your chances of exponential growth.
About Author: John H is a professional writer and marketer from FastForwardAcademy.com