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The top six social media tips to know before you leave the office.

On Saturday, Apple, Inc. let loose its latest creation – the iPad. In the United States, more than 300,000 of the devices were sold that day alone. Another version of the device, which includes wireless 3G connectivity, will likely grow that figure significantly in the coming months. With suppliers expecting to ship 11 million units by year’s end, this device joins the already popular iPhone in dramatically shifting the way consumers access online content. As such, companies must be prepared to adapt accordingly.
 
In this week’s Six @ Six, we outline six tips to ensure your brand is ready for the onslaught of iPad users. Has your company already begun changing your site to suit the iPad and the growing number of other mobile devices? Tell me how on Twitter @pjkerley.

1. Consider the iPad’s Audience:

The iPad represents not only a change in technology and usability; it is also expected to eventually bring a new class of Internet users online. While the most tech-savvy among us are likely to be the first to purchase the iPad, the device’s simple interface and all-in-one form is also expected to appeal to older consumers and those who have generally avoided technology upgrades in the past. That means brands should consider how some of these new Web users will interact with their sites. Now is the time to step back and evaluate how clearly navigation options are presented or how the readability of certain font and background color combinations may impact this new audience. Users of all ages and degrees of sophistication will appreciate this renewed attention to usability – especially on the sites that have strayed into the cluttered territory of excessive ads and visual chaos.

2. Remember the Device is Mobile:

The iPad is a mobile device. Considering one of its primary features is an eBook reader, we can expect commuters and vacationers to carry it around and use it on the go. And with the introduction of the new 3G models at the end of the month, iPad users will be able to access the Internet anywhere they can find mobile phone service and can pinpoint their location using built in GPS. Imagine tourists pulling out an iPad instead of a map to find their way around an unfamiliar city. In order to adapt, brands should ensure that their locations and services are registered with popular, location-aware online tools. After all, Yelp, UrbanSpoon, Google Maps, and even FourSquare are driving new customers to retail locations like never before.

3. Reconsider the App:

One of the offshoots of the iPhone was the mobile application. Suddenly everyone has an app, including Facebook, LinkedIn, the Wall Street Journal, Southwest Airlines, and Target to name but a few (there are more than 150,000 apps in total). In the world of small screen size, applications made sense as traditional sites were not always easily viewed on a mobile phone’s screen. However, the iPad provides a surface closer in size to that of a laptop – meaning more Web sites are now mobile-accessible. If the app you’re considering developing  only mirrors information found on your website, then drive users to your site and forego the expense of developing and maintaining an entirely new content channel. One other note – if you previously had an app for the iPhone and want to ensure the same experience on a bigger screen, be sure to re-design it for the iPad. The increased screen size requires, at a minimum, higher resolution graphics and resized text.

4. Be mindful of Default Apps:

The iPad is an ecosystem of applications. In addition to the Safari browser, there are applications to access Google Maps, email, the iTunes music store, and much more. As such, links that in the past may have defaulted to a third-party website or launched a download will instead launch specific iPad applications. For instance, clicking links to Google Maps will launch the Maps application instead of going to the site, and YouTube videos will play in the built in application rather than in the body of a page. There are pros and cons to this arrangement. On the plus side, iPad users will be treated to a more feature-rich experience when accessing such content. But on the down side, they will also be steered away from your site. This means they may not navigate back after they visit certain links. Consider limiting the calls to such content or providing alternatives that will keep users on your site. For instance, use a static map to show your location with the option to click over to the interactive Google Maps application, or embed video using HTML 5 instead of linking to YouTube.

5. Stick to HTML 5 Standards:

The iPad’s browser is a fully featured version of Apple’s Safari – just as with the iPhone. While Internet access is already a widely-used capability on the iPhone, iPad users are likely to take mobile Web surfing to new heights. That means brands will need to review sites to ensure standards compliance. This will make certain that the largest number of online information consumers see your content displayed and arranged correctly on the screen. Although it seems counterintuitive to invest heavily in revising a site for a device that does not yet match the number of laptop or desktop users, understand that the future is now and that embracing community standards – which are supported by the desktop version of Safari, Firefox, Opera, Google Chrome, and the newest beta version of Internet Explorer – will put you ahead of the curve.

6. Provide Alternatives to Flash:

One of the biggest sticking points for some consumers is the lack of support for Adobe’s Flash technology on the iPad. Although Flash was once the only way to produce animated and interactive Web content, such as drop down menus and online games, the newest standard of website code, HTML 5, incorporates a number of features to provide such functionality. The Flash movie player that once was the backbone of Internet giants such as YouTube has been replaced with richer multimedia offerings within the HTML 5 standard. Already sites for major networks, vlogs, and even video sharing sites like Vimeo have embraced the HTML 5 video tags. Similarly, sites will need to eliminate Flash-based navigation menus or else risk alienating iPad users who cannot navigate past the front page. Brands looking to the future will need to address both of these primary uses of Flash in refurbishing their site for the iPad audience. Adobe’s Flash is still a useful technology in Web development, but there are alternatives that should be programmatically applied according to the limitations of the visitor to ensure the maximum experience for the greatest number of people.

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Patrick Kerley is an Account Supervisor at Levick Strategic Communications, the world’s top crisis firm. He is also a contributing author to Bulletproof Blog™ and is on Twitter @pjkerley.