Mobile matters: Digital publishing in the smartphone era

In PUBLISHING
28 September 2017
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The smartphone turned ten in 2017 and in just a decade it has had an enormous impact on everything from banking to ordering takeout. Digital publishing is no exception. Now more than ever, making sure your content looks great, works perfectly and offers maximum appeal on mobile devices is key.

In this post, we’ll discuss why getting it right on mobile matters in today’s digital publishing landscape.

Mobile majority

First things first: more people than ever are using their smartphones to go online. That means that if your publications aren’t optimized for mobile display, you risk missing out on a big chunk of your audience’s time and attention. Globally, mobile usage overtook desktop in November 2016 and climbed to 54% of total internet usage by July 2017. Users across the world averaged 86 minutes a day on their phones to access the internet in 2016, compared to 36 minutes on their desktops. Those figures are even higher in the United States: Americans spent 52 minutes a day online on their desktops, and 145 minutes online on their phones.

Responsive design

By making your publications easy and attractive to view on mobile screens, you can reach readers who prefer to use their phones to browse online. With Calaméo, you never have to worry about how your document will look beyond the desktop. Our powerful technology automatically optimizes your publications for cross-platform viewing. Links always stay right where you put them and your documents keep impeccable image quality on all mobile and tablet devices.

Social content

Smartphones open up an ideal avenue to bring your digital publications into the social media ecosystem. Mobile users spend a lot of time on apps—fully half the total time that they devote to digital media—and social networking apps play a big part. It has been estimated that the average person is on Facebook for 35 minutes a day and will scroll through 18 entire days on Twitter over the course of his or her lifetime.

It’s essential that sharing your publications is simple for your readers, even on smartphones. The share button on Calaméo’s viewer lets readers post about your publications on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and more from their mobile devices in just a few taps.

The next step is to share your own publications on your business’s own social media accounts. Up to 47% of Facebook users access the service exclusively through the mobile app. You can maximize your ability to engage mobile users by adding your publications to your social profiles, so that readers can easily find and view them on their smartphones.

💡 TIP: Looking for social inspiration? Our Guide to Social Strategy is full of smart ideas for digital publishers.

What’s next

Responsive design and smart sharing allow your digital publications to shine on mobile devices. Go further with the biggest trends in smartphone usage: video content and mobile shopping.

Our PLATINUM plan has everything you need to take full advantage of your content’s mobile potential. Start by using the Editor to add Shopping links and embed videos directly inside your publications. Then, consult detailed statistics to find out what engaged your audience most and how they click on mobile. The results just might surprise you!

📲 Calaméo’s publication viewer got a new look in 2021, including an awesome mobile update. Check out all the details and browse the 2021 theme!

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PUBLISHING

[CHECKLIST] Develop your digital publishing strategy

In PUBLISHING
30 July 2020

If you have important content to share online, then you need a digital publishing strategy. This can be a part of larger business plan or as simple as a set of guidelines. Not sure where to get started? Our simple checklist will help you develop your digital publishing strategy, no matter what you want to achieve.

Define your goals

First, think about the objectives you have for your content. Don’t rush this step—it’s the most essential information you’ll need to establish your strategy. Because the rest will follow from here, take some time to define your digital publishing goals.

These might include:

  • Improving your site’s SEO
  • Building your business’s brand
  • Communicating with colleagues
  • Generating leads
  • Sharing sales material with prospects

Above all, make sure to prioritize. It’s normal to have multiple goals, but challenging to accomplish them all at once. Be honest with yourself about your top objectives and remember that different types of content can have different purposes.

Choose your channels

Now that you have a clear idea of your goals, you can select the channels that you will use to publish your digital content. Maintaining an active presence on as many channels as possible is a good idea. However, keep your priorities in mind and focus on the channels that match your most important goals.

SOCIAL MEDIA

Social media channels can be a great fit for sharing content that builds your business’s brand. Research which kinds of content perform best on the platforms that interest you. For example, Twitter is often associated with content related to news, while compelling visuals are a must for Instagram.

BLOG

A blog is a key channel for content aimed at improving your site’s SEO and generating leads. What’s more, blogs are now easy to set up and manage. If you’re starting from scratch, figure out the blogging platform that best meets your needs. If you already have a blog, do a quick audit to see the content that is succeeding and where there’s room for improvement.

LONG-FORM CONTENT

Some types of more complex content may not make sense to publish as a simple blog article. This is especially true for sales material, like a prospectus or brochure, and internal communications material, like an employee handbook. Because this content tends to be longer and have more striking graphics, it should be available to share from an intranet or digital publishing platform.

Create a production schedule

Once you have decided on the channels that work best for your goals, it’s time to create a production schedule for your digital content. Make a list of the subjects that you will cover and plan the frequency and format of your publishing. In other words, decide how often you want to publish to each of your channels and what kinds of content you will create.

Most importantly, be realistic about how much you will be able to publish on the channels that you will use. Don’t forget that some content is faster to produce than others. For example, a blog post won’t take as much time to write as a white paper. But when in doubt, pick quality over quantity. Publishing less is a smart strategy if your content is interesting, well-written and attractive.

Determine promotion needs

Even amazing content can benefit from an extra push to connect with your online audience. Although you’ve already chosen the right channels for your goals, other channels still offer great opportunities for promoting your content. You could post a link to your most recent blog article on your social media channels and reach new followers. Or you could embed long-form content on your blog for readers to discover. In addition, email newsletters and paid advertisements are two popular options to consider.

For each type of content on your production schedule, select at least one way that you will use to distribute it.

Decide measurement metrics

Analyzing the impact of your content is a critical step to develop your digital publishing strategy.  Before you start hitting that Post button, look at the goals you defined at beginning of this checklist. To know whether you achieve them, you’ll need to establish which data points will be most relevant.

For instance, you may want to measure how many times your content has been downloaded. This may tell you whether it is appealing to readers and allowing you to communicate successfully with colleagues, prospects or leads. With other metrics, such as the number of pages viewed or the conversion rate, you can begin to evaluate the effectiveness of your approach.

Gather data regularly and note the patterns that emerge. As you continue to develop your digital publishing strategy, use these insights to adapt your content and keep moving toward your goals.

Ready to develop your approach to online content? We’ve outlined all the essential steps in one handy digital publishing strategy checklist. Download your copy now and start making the most out of your content.

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PUBLISHING

Top 10 reasons digital publishing on Calaméo is best in class

In PUBLISHING
6 August 2020

When it comes to sharing documents online, there are plenty of tools to choose from: file sharing services, digital publishing and even good old-fashioned email attachments. Digital publishing offers lots of advantages and here at Calaméo we work hard to make our platform the best choice for everyone. That’s why all of our users can enjoy great features like in-text search, private publications and more—absolutely free. Here are ten ways that Calaméo provides the best digital publishing platform for your documents.

Publish multiple file types

Your file doesn’t have to be a PDF in order be published on Calaméo. Our advanced conversion technology transforms Word, Powerpoint and Excel files into beautiful online publications, in addition to PDFs.

Multiple file upload

We want using Calaméo to be as easy and as streamlined as possible for our users—every minute of your workflow counts. That’s why you can batch upload up to 10 files at a time on Calaméo. Just drag and drop your documents and start publishing.

Automatic link detection

Another highlight of our conversion technology is its automatic link detection. Save even more time by adding external links to your PDF before upload, publish and share.

The Calaméo Editor

Interactivity sets digital experiences apart and we’re proud to help our users create engaging online publications. Our Editor offers a user-friendly tool for adding links, video, audio, GIFs and more to your documents on Calaméo.

Table of contents

Even long documents are simple to navigate when you include a table of contents in the publication viewer. Define a table of contents using Bookmarks in your original PDF, or add one to your finished publication with our handy widget.

Slide mode

We love the fun effect and visual flair of flipbooks, but we love giving our users options even more. Slide mode provides a sleek reading experience great for presentations. Select it when choosing a Display mode in your publication’s Properties.

Easy RTL reading

Publishing in a language that is read from right to left? On Calaméo, it’s no problem. Set the Reading mode of your publication as “From right to left” in its Properties so that your readers can browse smoothly.

Remove center shadow

The design of your publication is important and there are lots of ways to customize our viewer to show it off perfectly. Users who prefer a more flat design look for their digital documents can easily remove the flipbook’s center shadow: just add the “pagefxopacity=0” parameter to the URL of your publication.

Full-screen display

Remove distractions and help readers stay focused on your publication thanks to full-screen reading. With full-screen supported for desktop, in embedded publications and on Safari for iOS, you’re sure to find the choice that fits your digital publishing needs.

Publication embeds

Speaking of embedding your publications, Calaméo makes it painless. Decide exactly how you want your embedded publications to look in your website and collect the code in one click. Plus, even private publications can be embedded for greater security and control.

These are just ten of our favorite reasons why digital publishing on Calaméo is a best in class experience. We didn’t even have space to mention great features like our generous storage limits, nifty Library Widget or how simple it is to update a document.

We also think that you’ll love the advanced features of our professional plans, from in-depth statistics to Subscriber management.

Ready to see for yourself why Calaméo is the best digital publishing platform for your documents? Register for your free account and start publishing today.

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