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mobile devices

In January of this year, I wrote an article for the Newstex blog about the five critical reasons publishers need a "mobile always" strategy. Today, the majority of digital content is consumed on mobile devices, and the majority of social media time is spent on mobile devices, too. Considering how much digital content is shared and consumed through social media, it's clear that mobile should be a top priority for publishers. However, that is far from the reality.Yesterday, Ronn Levine of SIIA wrote about what he refers to as the "Ahhh, mobile' response explaining, "We still have a tendency to say, 'Ahhh mobile,' yet everything we read points to the need for action." Ronn is absolutely correct. The time for mobile consideration is over and has been for a while. Mobile action is required.Ronn shared some tips from Martin Ashplant, director of digital and social media at the London business news site City AM, which he believes helped his site increase mobile visitors by 190% in six months. Some of those tips include an increased prioritization of site speed, improved user experiences, and more editorial focus on data journalism and visualizations. On the other hand, Ashplant suggests that location, age, and demographics are less important because, "People are using mobile regardless of ages or demographics."Back in April, I shared six secrets to mobile content publishing success that I recommend you take a look at (just follow the preceding link). For example, are you thinking platform first? Simply republishing content from a desktop site to a mobile audience won't work. Instead, you should be creating content that is optimized for mobile devices. A smaller screen and faster moving audiences demand mobile-optimized content, and if you're not providing it, you can bet that audiences will find it from another source.The number of mobile devices in use will surpass the number of people on the planet this year. If that's not a wake up call that you need a "mobile always" content publishing strategy now, then you're in trouble. As Ronn Levine stated on the SIIA blog, "The numbers may not be there yet---even the [New York] Times still sees only 10% of new subscriptions come via mobile---but they will. It's important to get there now so you'll be ready."Is your content ready?Image: Jeremy Keith licensed CC BY 2.0

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