According to results from a study conducted by BIA/Kelsey, mobile ad revenues are being boosted significantly by local business participation in online marketing campaigns. Of the anticipated $4.2 billion dollars generated by mobile phone campaigns, half will be derived from local campaigns. This represents the first time that locally generated mobile phone revenue will outpace revenue spent by national advertisers. Additionally, BIA/Kelsey predicts that local mobile ad growth will continue to grow over the next several years. It’s anticipated that local mobile ad growth will exceed $5.8 billion by 2016. That’s an increase of 58% over that time period.
In response to this robust growth, many start-ups are appearing on the marketing landscape to justify the investment that is pouring into localized markets from local as well as national brands. What they are quickly learning is that the mobile device user has high expectations from his smartphone merchants. These sophisticated electronic shoppers demand real-time relevance from their merchants. Retailers expect high conversion rates and a cultivated audience of loyal customers.
Making Your Marketing Matter
The singular biggest factor in today’s shopping paradigm is convenience and the ability to confer with your social networks concerning purchasing decisions. This frustrates many local advertisers who prefer to rely on mobile ads to generate leads. Yet, 50% of smartphone users employ their social networks to make purchasing decisions. Therefore, a local campaign that simply counts eyeballs is missing out on the formula for success. Retailers must re-enforce their social capital by reaching out to the entire social media to close the deal.
One invaluable resource that local markets are anticipating is the proliferation of shopping and social network apps such as Twitter that will help accomplish a more rewarding mobile shopping experience. Eventually, more local mobile advertising networks will appear to support the marketers of all sizes on a local footprint. Merchants will get used to the idea that ROI will be measured in terms of local customer engagement and convenience.
