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Thank you AD:60. The team at AD:60 recently released an infographic depicting “10 Reasons Why You Need a Mobile Site.” Because this is something of utmost importance to the process of webcasting an event, it would be profitable to reiterate the points made by AD:60. After seeing these reasons you’ll see why a mobile site is an increasingly indispensable aspect of webcasting.

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10 Reasons Why You Need a Mobile Site Infographic by AD:60

Following are some e3 Webcasting observations on the above infographic:

• 1. 8% of all digital traffic comes from smartphones and tablets.

  8% may not seem that significant, until one puts it into the context of the following reasons.

• 2. Most mobile phones in America will be smartphones by the end of 2012.

  This point is accompanied by a graph that shows how, in 2010, according to the graphic, Nielsen Mobile Insights 70% of mobile phones were feature phones and only 30% were smartphones, which have steadily climbed over the past two years to where they are nearly 50-50 at this point. Based on that, it is expected that smartphone usage will soon surpass feature phones, which probably will in turn affect the percentage given in Reason 1.

• 3. More and more users are making purchases on their phones.

  As smartphones multiply, more and more people are using their phones to make purchases. As this graph shows, in 2010 purchases made on phones was only at 23%. By 2012 that number has grown to 35% and it is predicted to be as high as 43% by the year 2015.

• 4. The proportion of mobile-only users is even higher in developing countries.

  A map on this graphic depicts the fact that while nations more developed have a relatively low percentage of mobile-only users (23% for the U.S.A., 22% in the U.K. and only 19% in Russia), nations such as Egypt (70%), India (59%), South Africa (57%), Nigeria (50%) and Indonesia (44%) have notably higher numbers. A good mobile site is necessary, but even more so if your market/audience is global. There is no excuse for a worldwide event or corporation to not have a good mobile site.

• 5. Mobile commerce is growing fast.

  Forrester Research Mobile Commerce Forecast reported that while mobile commerce was only $3 billion in 2010, it has reached $10 billion now, in 2012, and is forecasted to increase to more than ten times where it was in 2010 by 2016, at $31 billion!

• 6. Smartphone users cover a wide demographic.

  The infographic tells us that smartphones are used by 67% of those between the ages of 18 and 24. Going on, 71% of those 25-34 years, 54% of 35-44 year-olds, 44% between 45 and 54 years, 31% of people 55-84 years and 13% of those 65 years and up use smartphones. This is a large and wide demographic. Of those, 14% of men and 9% of women have made purchases on their phones. You cannot afford to ignore this demographic.

• 7. Couch commerce is rising.

  59% of customers are using their mobile devices to shop from their homes. Just as online stores became necessary with the coming of the Internet, so too as mobile use picks up it becomes more and more essential to businesses/corporations/events to have mobile friendly sites.

• 8. Smartphone users have higher than average income.

  The median U.S. household income is roughly $50,000 – while 60% of smartphone users earn more than $100,000. With more than double the average U.S. income, reaching these potential customers with a mobile friendly site becomes an indispensable must.

• 9. Mobile sites are important for both physical and digital stores.

  This is so, says AD:60, because 46% of customers will use their phone to research products before making an in-store purchase. 41% will research and then buy on a computer, and 37% will make their purchase via phone after researching on a mobile device. This information lets us infer that having a good mobile site is vital for physical stores, even more than for online ones.

• 10. Your normal site is NOT thumb-friendly.

  With the majority of smartphones being touch-screen, not having a mobile site is very damaging for digital traffic. The regular site is created for a computer screen, thus requiring a lot of thumbing, pinching, zooming – unwanted hassle – for mobile users to navigate a site; this weakens their response to what your site has to offer. Who wants to exert that much energy? Getting a sharp mobile-friendly site will help you to better receive the benefits cited in Reasons 1-9.

That wraps-up the “Ten Reasons” on the infographic, and already there are copious reasons to get a mobile-friendly site. I would add just one more reason, in relation to our purposes:

• 11. Mobile sites are important for webcasting.

  Without a mobile-friendly site your webcasting venture (be it a conference, event, or whatever), will exclude a large percentage of your audience. Viewing a live-streamed video on a mobile device when the site was created for the desktop PC is difficult and frustrating; but with a mobile-friendly site ready for subscribers who are viewing on their smartphones, you provide a much more professional and appealing presentation for the event’s audience. A mobile site, as AD:60 has illustrated so masterfully, is indispensable for websites in general, but with a live streamed event, where you have no idea if your potential audience will be on a computer or a device, than their importance must be stressed even more emphatically.

We’ve now seen the ten (or eleven) reasons why your webcast needs a mobile-friendly site. There is no reason to hesitate in taking advantage of the benefits that they bring. As time goes on, it appears that this will become even more needed. So why not? Mobile users the world over are waiting.