Social media kills your web portal

Yeah, we know you're working on a big new corporate site -- and here is why it likely doesn't matter. New research from Nielsen shows Americans now spend 33% of their time online using social media or online games, up from about 25% a year ago. Google search has remained about constant, with the big losers being portals such as Yahoo and AOL -- with their slice down by 19 percent. Peter Kafka over at AllThingsD also notes that email is migrating over to smart phones, where Americans spend 42% of the time they hold handsets pecking at tiny keys.

The harsh lesson for marketers: Consumers want to see less of your single site, and if they do read a message, it may be on tiny handsets with less visual inventory for ad messaging. Perhaps instead of focusing on your single landing page, it's time to build a broader web presence with more options for consumers to find, or share, your story.