2015 Internet Trends Point to 2016
Trends & Targets for Internet Businesses Now!
You got them to notice you; now give them more value.
Happy New Year to all! At Ray Access, we are pleased to report that we nearly doubled our sales in 2015 — not bad for a small Asheville-based start-up. We appreciate the business our clients brought us, and we’re looking forward to continuing to provide quality content for small, medium and big businesses.
We want to emphasize “big,” because those are the clients we’re targeting in the coming year. We’re not alone in thinking big. As a matter of fact, according to investment powerhouse Kleiner, Perkins, Caufield and Byers (KPBC), consumer and small business Internet use skyrocketed in 2015, while big companies in the fields of education, government and healthcare experienced little or no growth. So those are big markets all small Internet-based business providers should put on their radars for 2016.
Go Mobile
Another target we (and you) should add to your list for this coming year is to make sure your blogs and websites are mobile-friendly. At Ray Access, we’re currently in the process of tweaking our new website for ease of use on mobile devices. All Asheville Internet businesses should do the same.
It’s a big deal in 2015 because more and more people are getting online through their mobile devices. Check out KPBC’s account of mobile users:
- In 2008, Internet users spent about 80 percent of their online time from a desktop or laptop and only 12 percent of their time from mobile devices.
- By 2015, only 42 percent of online time was hard-wired, while 51 percent was mobile.
And this trend is going to continue, as more and more users buy and learn to use mobile devices. At the same time, the 2015 trends don’t mean that desktop and laptop use is going to disappear; it just means that mobile devices are increasing the amount of time consumers and business leaders spend online.
Follow the Money
Small Asheville Internet companies can reach an international audience as more and more citizens around the world get connected. The brick-and-mortar stores, door-to-door sales calls and personal networking will remain a stronghold of bottom-line business growth. But we’ll do more and more sales through our website.
Which brings us to the reason for the season: how can we all double our sales in 2016? According to Cyber Alert, “blogs have emerged as an influential new media outlet for PR stories.” They also report that close to 85 percent of consumers have made a buying decision based on a blog they read. Third-party blogs that include reviews and product/service descriptions are the most popular buying influencers.
Options for Change
A few ways that all of us in the Asheville market and beyond might take advantage of some of these trends and targets include:
- Write guest blogs for others’ sites
- Get industry-expert, entertaining and enlightening guests to write for your site
- Spend some time blogging about trends and new products
- Target your blogs to industry sidelines (like this one, for example)
In other words, don’t just write about your company and your business in your blogs. Use your valuable Internet space and position to bring attention to healthcare issues, government policies and educational institutions. Write about topics that interest your target market. As always, refrain from getting too political (you don’t want to alienate potential customers just because of their politics).
Illustrate issues in new ways. Give both sides of an issue equal treatment and coverage (much like an unbiased journalist). 2015 was the year of steady growth for Asheville businesses; let’s make 2016 a year of explosive growth and put Asheville on the map for more than just its breweries and hiking trails. If you don’t know how to get started, let Ray Access know. Go Asheville tech companies!
Ray Access is a content marketing firm that delivers targeted words to empower your business. Contact us about your specific project to receive a quote or discuss your needs. We write website copy, blog posts, e-newsletters and more. Everything we do is thoroughly researched, professionally edited and guaranteed original.