As smartphone-oriented marketing has grown, advertisers have looked for ways to target other mobile devices in similar ways. Tablets are by far the most prominent of all non-smartphone mobile devices, and their popularity has been growing almost as rapidly as their small screen counterparts.
Offering many of the same functions, tablets are frequently used in addition to – rather than instead of – iPhones, Androids and other smartphones. There are a few key reasons why consumers are choosing to have both options at their disposal. Before we examine the best ways to reach tablet users, let’s take a look at some of the key reasons for the recent explosion in tablet use:

• Falling prices. Since the first models were introduced during the noughties, tablet prices have fallen dramatically – always a surefire way of increasing the number of units shifted.
• Use in schools. More and more schools and colleges are issuing students with tablets rather than laptops. They provide access to libraries’ worth of books, thousands of online audio and video lectures, and all sorts of interactive apps designed specifically for educational use. The main advantage over laptops is the touchscreen technology, which enables students to create graphs and edit pictorial content more easily.
• Commercial enterprise. Small businesses are going for tablets in a big way. They are particularly useful for home-run businesses, and food trucks and other mobile businesses, but they have also come into favor in place of cash registers at restaurants and retail stores.
• Real-world use. Of course, the biggest growth area is in ordinary consumers day to day lives. Tablets provide easy access to music, movies, games and other entertainment, and are almost as portable as smartphones, with the added advantage of offering large screens capable of giving users a more enjoyable experience when viewing content.

With all these applications (and more), it’s not hard to see why tablets are revolutionizing the world of mobile marketing. It took the mobile phone industry a couple of decades to get where it is now – tablets have made similar strides in just four years, offering a broader spectrum of uses, and working equally well for businesses and consumers.
In order to take full advantage of tablets, businesses and advertising agencies must ensure their sites, clickable ads and other features are optimized for use on this increasingly popular device.