56.5% of small businesses are using mobile advertising, according to data from BIA’s latest Local Commerce Monitor™ (LCM) survey report, Mobile Advertising and Small Businesses, up from 22.9% of small businesses just two years ago. Small business advertisers are attracted to mobile’s better ad reach, as well as customer and location-based targeting capabilities. Mobile should be sold as part of the digital offering of any seller.
Not only are small businesses increasing their use of mobile, they’re increasing their spend. “The most rapidly growing media channel for local advertising is mobile, followed by desktop advertising,” said Mark Fratrik, Chief Economist and SVP, BIA Advisory Services. Local advertising on mobile devices sold by pure-play mobile providers will rise this year to $19 billion, according to BIA/Kelsey’s U.S. Local Advertising Forecast 2018: Mobile and Social estimates. An additional $3.1 billion in mobile advertising is being sold by traditional media companies (i.e., radio, television and newspapers) in 2018, for a total of $22.1 billion in mobile advertising. BIA projects that figure to grow to $38.7 billion in 2022. “We are very positive about local advertising on mobile devices to increase significantly in the next decade. As mobile continues to mature, national and small business advertisers see its effectiveness and ability as an all-encompassing platform to reach their audiences,” said Dr. Fratrik. “Mobile has become a preferred platform for the advertising dollar because of its ability to capture audiences of all ages based precisely on where they are and what they are doing, at any given moment.”
