In the next year, we can probably expect tablets to become one of the most useful business tools for businesses.  Desktop computers will still hold their ground, but tablets are quickly replacing laptops in 2012 The iPad may still be the King of the Tablets, but when deciding on which tablet to invest in, here are a few specs to think about:

• Function: Think about the main tasks that the tablet will be used for.  If you are going to be using it as more of a presentation tool, you may want to get a bigger screen.  If you’re using it out in the field, you may want something durable and light.
• Size: Remember that the point of a tablet is portability.  You may want it to be able to fit in your briefcase or purse.  But, you don’t want it to be a bigger version of your smart phone, you want it to be a more compact version of a laptop.
• Accessories:  Just like an outfit may not be complete without the right accessories, a tablet can be utilized to the fullest of its potential with the correct accessories.  If you are using the tablet to type out emails, blogs or code, you may want to invest in a keyboard.
• Internal apps: Here at Phoenix Staff we have several small internal applications that we use to do quick calculations and
• Ports: Speaking of battery life, the way you can charge your tablet is of utter importance when selecting a tablet to use as a business tool.  Remember that not only you will need to charge your tablet while at home or at work, but you also may need to charge it on the go.  Do you have a car charger for your phone already?  Think about getting a tablet that has that same charging port.

In the past ten years, due to a dramatic increase in consumer technologies, VCR’s, busy signals and floppy disks have all been replaced with Tweeting, iPads and Wi-Fi.  Thanks to the concentrated internet age we live in, the last three words have concrete meaning, even to those who do not utilize them.  In turn, marketing companies have been slowly making the switch from time consuming, costly outbound marketing to effective, efficient inbound marketing.  This has allowed small businesses to get found by the customers who need them.

Outbound marketing takes the stance of getting your message “out” to the general public, whoever they may be.  This includes bombarding individuals with many different forms of advertising on a daily basis.  Television commercials are being done away with because there are many companies who now offer commercial free options (for a fee) through the use of TiVo and watching TV on the internet.  Radio commercials are infrequently effective as well because many people now pay for commercial free radio such as satellite radio or Pandora One.  These paying customers are not being reached by companies utilizing outbound marketing.

Billboards may attract buyers attention for a split second, but because there are hundreds of billboards that people see on a daily basis (think about your commute to work this morning), their effects have decreased.  Many people subscribe to online magazines these days, so magazine articles are being phased out as well.  Yes, make up ads are placed in teen girl/fashion/gossip magazines, but do girls in that target audience actually purchase the advertised products?  For years, this has been the way for businesses to do their marketing, but in this internet age it is time for a change.

Inbound marketing primarily allows your website to bring in current, present and future customers with the use of strategic website design, functionality and blogs.  When you want to find out information about a specific topic, where is the first place you are going to go?  Chances are it’s a search engine on the internet.  Then you will read the first few links and hopefully gain the exact information you are looking for.  Using this strategy, inbound marketing implies that companies should then improve their website, with the use of raw data, social media sites and blogging, to the point where they are one of the top links on that organic search.

Inbound marketing allows companies to get found by the people who are looking for their specific service.  In order to increase the traffic of a website, a blog should be added.  When a search engine is used to look up your business, all it sees are a bunch of words on a site.  The more unique words you can add to the site, the more like that site will be found.  Update this blog at least two times per week because you don’t want to give your website a bad first impression by having your last blog post be from six months ago.

While outbound marketing was an effective tool in the business world ten years ago, times have changed and more business is now being conducted online.  Inbound marketing allows companies to take advantage of this economical entity since maintaining a website and blog is not only far less expensive than running a commercial in the super bowl, but it targets the exact consumers the company is looking for.  With the great speed that technology is progressing at, with new upgrades and versions available every time you turn around, it is about time that small businesses utilize the unlimited techniques that inbound marketing has to offer.

Most companies still use the old-fashioned marketing method of Outbound Marketing. Outbound Marketing, essentially, is when companies constantly throw money at mass emails, cold calls, trade shows, and different forms of advertising. They assume that because they are putting “good” in, they will get “good” out; which more and more enlightened companies are finding out, is not always true. In a world where thousands of advertisements are thrown at us on a daily basis, our eyes begin to blend it all together though.

So how can companies grab the attention of potential customers? The most effective and cost-efficient way is through Inbound Marketing. This relatively new form of Marketing is all around us and just because the name is unfamiliar, it does not mean you have never seen or used it. Inbound Marketing consists of different types of blogs, podcasts, webinars, and videos posted all over the web to generate SEO (Search Engine Optimization) on sites like Google, Yahoo, or Bing. These techniques are used to promote the company’s content to the masses without shoving it down their throats. The famous movie quote from Field of Dreams can be tweaked to apply directly to this theory, “If you blog it, they will come.”

Brian Halligan, a blogger from Hubspot.com, made a well put analogy comparing the two, saying that outbound marketers looking to gain interest from customers are like lions hunting in the jungle for elephants. A couple of decades ago the jungle was full of elephants, but now the elephants have started moving towards watering holes (the internet). Instead of continuing to hunt for the last remaining elephants in the jungle, why not set up shop next to where the elephants are going, the watering holes.