A report from Good Technology found that the iPad is becoming increasingly popular within enterprises, along with other Apple mobile devices. More than 97 percent of the enterprise activations handled by Good Technology in the first quarter dealt with the iPad. With the Apple tablet’s status as one of the leading tools for mobile search and accessing news content, this could be a boon for B2B marketers.
Brafton recently reported that tablet users typically look for more news content once they start using the device. Thirty-four percent of Pew respondents said that they regularly read news content on tablets. While users certainly access countless other kinds of content on their mobile devices, reading news is becoming an increasingly popular task for tablet owners partially because the mobile web makes it easy to constantly check for industry updates.
As the devices become more integral to business operations, B2B companies can leverage the trend by creating news content marketing campaigns that appeal to their target audiences. With more companies investing in tablets for their employees, the amount of research for purchase decisions that takes place on these devices will likely increase.
Developing articles that demonstrate value to B2B buyers will help marketers improve mobile traffic to their sites and drive more prospects through the conversion funnel.
Users of Apple’s iPhone and iPad are more likely to conduct searches than users of any other operating system, including both Windows and Apple’s own Mac OS.
Good also reported that the iPhone is growing in popularity as part of enterprise smartphone deployments.
“…(T)ablets, combined with proactive, company-owned iPad deployments, are driving rapid growth in the size and number of new deployments among our customers,” John Herrema, Good Technology’s senior vice president of corporate strategy, said in a release. “This includes significant growth in the number of Good users who have both a smartphone and a tablet, with the iPhone 4S and iPad 2 as the most frequently occurring combination.”
Brafton recently reported that Apple’s mobile devices are accounting for substantial search activity. The company’s mobile operating system, iOS, accounted for the greatest percentage of search activity as part of overall web access. Apple’s mobile customers are using their iPads and iPhone to search the web at a much greater rate than their competitors. As these devices become more prominent throughout the enterprise, SEO-focused B2B content marketing campaigns could help improve site traffic, web leads and conversions.
In general, smartphones and tablets are quickly replacing their precursors, feature phones and laptops, for both consumer and enterprise use. Brafton recently reported that the global smartphone market, for example, grew more than 42 percent in the first quarter of 2012 compared to the same period last year.
