Mobile marketing trends for small businesses

If you think there are too many people surfing the web on their phones at restaurants or checking their e-mail in movie theaters now — just wait. By 2015, nearly 45 percent (yes, almost half) of all Americans will own a smartphone.

That’s an almost 50 percent jump from where we are now, according to the technology research company Gartner, making Smartphones the highest selling consumer electronic device category.

So don’t worry if you haven’t yet jumped on the bandwagon — there are many new trends businesses large and small can leverage to stand out in the mobile marketplace.

What’s old is still old. Banner advertisements have been translated from traditional websites to mobile, but the same problem exists: no one pays attention to them.

These days, web surfers are using search engines to find exactly what they are looking for and smartphone users top the list.

Instead of waiting for an ad to attract their attention, they’ll use location-based services to find local businesses and restaurants right around the corner.

If your company doesn’t appear on search engines, review websites or maps — you don’t exist!

And just as easy as it is to find a company, it is getting even easier to find reviews and offer incentives.

Yelp.com users can search and leave reviews for their favorite (and not so favorite) businesses.

Applications like Facebook Places and foursquare allow users to “check in” when they visit a business so all their friends can see where they are/were. Businesses connected to foursquare can offer coupons and other incentives to frequent visitors.

So why do you need to move on mobile? Think of life before the Internet. This is Internet at your fingertips.

Still not convinced that mobile marketing is the way of the future?

This video by Google sums it up perfectly. The Mobile Movement: Understanding Smartphone Consumers.