Small and local businesses catching mobile train

With local mobile ad revenues forecast to skyrocket to $2.8 billion in 2015, small and local businesses are quickly looking for their way in to the marketplace. According to data from BIA/Kelsey, local mobile ad revenues in the US will increase from $404 million (2010) to more than $2 billion by 2015; many brands are latching on to apps to enter the fray.

by Kristina Knight

"Revenues will grow from not only ad volume, but also premiums placed on location-targeted ads," said Michael Boland, Program Director, BIA/Kelsey's Mobile Local Media practice. "These premiums result from higher performance for locally targeted mobile ads when compared with non-local ads, due to higher relevance, immediacy and consumer buying intent."

iBuildApp is making it simpler for smaller businesses to create apps for the mobile space. Through their new Android app creator, businesses use a WYSIWYG editor to create apps from scratch, even if the creator doesn't know technical code; this circumvents the expense of hiring developers to create apps for both iPhone and Android devices. The platforms iPhone app creator has been live for several months.

Meanwhile, small businesses are starting to take note of more mobile options. According to a recent Manta survey about 29% of SMB professionals are using mobile devices for work and about 40% are accessing apps from their mobiles. And it isn't simple sales, these professionals are turning to mobile for networking with other professionals and even clients. Manta has developed an SMB app which allows for business people to search direct from a mobile for a company's location or category, to filter company information or get a map of business locations.

Tags: app development, BIA Kelsey, Brainshark, iBuildApp, local mobile ads, Manta, mobile marketing, mobile tools