As advertisers become increasingly familiar with marketing for smartphones, they are finding that local is highly important.
On an increasing level, as marketers get a feel for what it takes to reach smartphone and tablet consumers, they are discovering that the heart of mobile commerce, and the spending that is done for marketing there, is local.
As the behaviors of these consumers are better observed, studied, and understood, it has been found that they are using their smartphones when they are on the go and aren’t seeking general information as much as they are trying to interact with the environment that is immediately around them.
Both this knowledge and its application will soon mean a revolution in mobile ad spending.
Local will soon become the very core element of mobile commerce – likely within the next half decade – simply because it makes good sense, and it appeals to smartphone using consumers at precisely the time that they are seeking that type of information.
According to Google, local information already makes up 40 percent of the searches performed over smartphones, tablets, and other mobile devices. Microsoft’s data says that 53 percent of its mobile searches are for local information.
The way that content is consumed by smartphone users is different from that of PC users.
In the m-commerce world, the current leading categories are news, weather, restaurants and other “going out” sources, maps and navigations, sports, and other topics that are local by nature. These consumers have been labeled “local information seekers” by Google, and they are considered to be exceptionally valuable to marketers, as these individuals are active spenders in their local communities and are seeking more information in order to improve their spending experiences.
This provides marketers a tremendous mobile commerce opportunity for influencing buying decisions. One which is unequaled by any other technique and which will soon be the dominant area for ad spending. In fact, BIA Kelsey has recently stated that by 2015, it expects that nearly 70 percent of the total ad spending will be focused specifically on local marketing such as local content, geo-targeted ads, and calls to action (for example, nearest location finders, click to call, and maps).
