By Carlee Driscoll

Ever feel like you can't keep up? As soon as marketers and business owners get their heads around CMS, SEO and PPC something new comes along and baffles us all over again. I am lucky enough to work with plenty of smart, talented people who seem much more au fait with new technology than me (and yes they are younger than me). So I thought I should keep my ear to the ground with our Gen Yers and fill you in on a couple of the recent marketing related innovations that we are being asked about... Don't worry, I will keep it simple.

Smart phone compatibility
The stats out there in web world are suggesting that by 2013 (maybe sooner) websites will more often be accessed from a mobile device than an actual computer. By mobile device think smart phone or tablet (IPhones, Blackberries, IPads etc). Whilst that is all very exciting what does that mean for us marketers or business owners? What it means is that we need to make sure our business website is compatible with these devices. Try looking at your own website via your smart phone (or get your kids to try it if none of this makes any sense to you). Howe does it look? Is it still easy to navigate? Realistically, now we need to start thinking about smart phone templates for our sites to ensure the site suits all our users.

QR Codes
Have you seen those funny-looking square barcodey things around lately? Sure they have been around for years in Tokyo but they are just starting to appear here on the Sunshine Coast. What are they? Like barcodes they hold information but they hold information for phones instead of scanners. For example, you could include a QR code on an ad in a bus shelter so that when people ‘scan’ it with their smart phones it could take them straight through to your website… even better it could take them straight to a promotional landing page on your site. Check out Business Matters magazine who seem to be leading the QR charge on the Sunny Coast.

I could keep going for some time but I fear I may lose some of our readers. Suffice to say our Gen Yers have filled me in on Hootsuite, Four Square, Hashtags and much more. Still dazed and confused? Don’t worry, you’re not alone! Take little steps and keep up as best you can. And don’t forget… technology is supposed to make our lives easier.

Carlee is the Strategic Marketing Planner for Chilli. If you’d like to see how Carlee and the Chilli team can help you grow your business call 5437 7788