I know you have heard about the iPad and how it is revolutionary. You may even be sick of hearing that, but the truth is the iPad is revolutionary. More importantly, it will have an effect on how you market your business.

Before I explain how I believe the iPad will affect your business let me give you an overview of what it will do:

1-   Touch Screen - like the iPhone. There is no need for a mouse.

2-   Wifi is be available first and both Wifi and 3G later.

3-   Large size screen with electronic keyboard that is close to the size of a real keyboard.

4-   Surf the web using Safari browser.

5-   Email

6-   Photo Albums - easy to use and display

7-   Video - download and play movies and use YouTube.

8-   Music- the iPod app lets you access all your current music and you can connect to iTunes.

9-   Just like the iPhone you have access to 140,000 different apps on the app store. This includes games and tools.

10- Ibooks - download and read books. Of course, you can also use it to play audio books.

11- Maps - including high resolution satellite and street images. Search for nearby businesses.

12- Take notes using the notes feature.

13- Calendar

14- Contacts

15- Iwork for Mac is also available. This allows presentations, word-processing and more.

So just about everything you can do on a Laptop, a Netbook or an iPhone you will be able to do with an iPad. Since the iPad is so easy to use and carry ( 9.56 X 7.47 X .5 inches and 1.5 pounds) this will add immensely to the mobile electronically connected consumer. It also means, if you use the right tools, you can connect with these consumers wherever they are and at any time. So how do you do this? Let me tell you.

1-      Start using Free Wifi marketing. People will want to connect with Wifi to watch movies, play games and other applications. If you are part of the network that provides Free Wifi such as C-Channel Atlanta (www.c-channelatlanta.com) you will be able to present ads that will be seen by these mobile consumers.

2-      Review your web site. The iPhone and iPad do not play Flash so if you have an all Flash site it will not been seen. Either create a separate site for mobile or use more standard text and photos so the mobile user can see your information.

3-      Step up or setup your Social Media presence. The one thing most Mobile consumers do is connect with Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Flickr and whatever other sites they love and use. You should be part the social media community already.

4-      Consider email marketing. Yes it is true open rates have dwindled over the last 10 years, but it is still a viable and cost effective tool. And the increased use of the iPad, smart phones, Netbooks and whatever other iPad competitors show up is making email popular again. The easier it is to receive and send email when you are on the go the more it will be used. Email is a richer experience than text messages. Both will be used depending what you are trying to say.

5-   If you can afford the cost, it is a good time to look into creating mobile applications for your business.

Harry Hallman