Ohio advertising can be more effective with mobile

According to a Westerville, Ohio, advertising research company, smaller companies can make their online marketing efforts even more successful if they add a mobile component.

The study from Ad-ology Research found that more than 30 percent of small businesses have plans to devote additional money and time to mobile marketing campaigns in 2012. That figure marks a 12 percent increase from last year’s results.

"Marketing opportunities using mobile devices are rapidly emerging just as they did for the internet many years ago," said C. Lee Smith, president and CEO of Ad-ology Research. "Small business owners are increasingly connected themselves and recognize mobile as a viable way to effectively and efficiently reach potential customers."

Making marketing materials that can be easily viewed on mobile devices, such as smartphones and tablets, can also prove to be a lucrative move. An infographic from Vertic, posted on Mashable, found that mobile commerce could be a $31 billion industry by 2016, with tablet users spending approximately one hour and 35 minutes on their devices and spending between 10 percent and 20 percent more money that the average shopper.

That audience is also growing, with the group predicting there will be 54 million tablet owners in the U.S. by early 2012, and more than 108 million owners by 2015.