44+ Significant Mobile Marketing Statistics for the B2B Internet Marketer

Should B2B marketers be focused on a mobile marketing initiative? We don’t get that question as much as we should. I suspect part of that reason is the ever growing list of marketing responsibilities are clients have on their plate, satisfying short and long-term marketing goals. There is just not enough time in the day to map out this strategy.

That said, it is important to realize that internet marketing, search engine marketing, and social media marketing, are moving rapidly to browsers and applications on the mobile device. Last month I illustrated how mobile device usage was increasing in our clients’ web traffic reports. This trend is also happening across the third party platforms that drive traffic and leads to the organization.

The content marketing assets B2B marketers are using to acquire leads are being accessed at an increasing rate through mobile browsers and sites with greater mobile accessibility.

Still not sold on these development? Here are over 44 telling statistics from recent mobile marketing surveys and research worth bringing into the next marketing strategy meeting (the last one is a quick video from Google). These statistics support the reasoning that mobile marketing strategy needs to be considered in 2012 and beyond.

1. Global mobile data traffic grew 2.3-fold in 2011, more than doubling for the fourth year in a row.
2. Last year’s mobile data traffic was eight times the size of the entire global Internet in 2000.
3. Mobile video traffic exceeded 50 percent of all video traffic for the first time in 2011.
4. Average smartphone usage nearly tripled in 2011.
5. By the end of 2012, the number of mobile-connected devices will exceed the number of people on earth, and by 2016 there will be 1.4 mobile devices per capita.

6. At the end of 2011 there were more than 400 smartphone device types on the market in the U.S., providing a wide range of options for the consumer
7. Android and Apple dominated the smartphone narrative in 2011, with a combined market share of more than 75 percent in December 2011.
8. Apple accounted for 29.6 percent of the smartphone market in December 2011.
9. A look at some of the top mobile activities for smartphone and feature phone owners in 2011 found that nearly 3 in 4 Americans texted in December, while 3 in 5 used their phone for taking photos and slightly more than 1 in 4 captured video on their mobiles.
10. In December 2011, 28.5 million mobile users accessed online retail content on their mobile devices, up 87 percent from the previous year
11. It took seven years to reach nearly 40 million smartphones compared to less than two years to reach nearly 40 million tablets

12. The share of adult cell phone owners who have downloaded an app to their phone nearly doubled in the past two years – rising from 22% in September 2009 to 38% in August 2011 (source)
13. Half of U.S. adult cell phone owners (50%) now have apps on their phones. (source)
14. 19% of United States adults own a tablet device and 29% own either a tablet or E-Reader. (source)
15. Tablet and e-reader ownership increased by nearly double over the holidays, and more than 1 out of every 4 Americans now has one of the devices. (source)

16. Of the world’s 4 billion mobile phones in use, 1.08 billion are smartphones
17. By 2014, mobile internet usage should take over desktop internet usage
18. Half of local searches are performed on mobile devices
19. On average, Americans spend 2.7 hours per day socializing on their mobile device, which is over twice the amount of time they spend eating
20. 91 percent of mobile internet access is to socialize, compared to 79 percent on desktops
21. Over one-third of Facebook’s 600+ million user base uses Facebook mobile
22. 200 million plus YouTube views occur on mobile devices per day

26. 80 percent of the world’s population now has a mobile phone
27. 91.4 million smartphones in the U.S.
28. There are 5 billion mobile phones in the world
29. 62 percent of adults aged 25-34 own smartphones

30. U.S. Mobile & social media revenue surged 30% to $45.4 billion in 2011
31. Mobile & social media revenue growth is expected to continue in 2012 accelerating at a 30.8% annual rate
32. The mobile media sector alone reached the $1 billion revenue mark faster than any communications industry in history in 2008, taking only five years compared with 16 for the internet

33. U.S. and U.K. businesses are embracing mobile technology at an unprecedented rate, more than doubling their investments in the next year and a half.
34. A third of companies surveyed planned to launch four or more mobile projects in the next 12 to 18 months.

35. Nine in 10 young adults spend between one and five hours on their mobile devices daily.
36. 66% don’t want brands to know about their whereabouts but 30% think that it is important that offers are close to their location.
37. 56% of those surveyed were worried their credit card details being stolen.
38. Nearly one in three would like brands to send them promotions via mobile device.

39. 8% of total U.S. Internet traffic comes from mobile and connected devices
40. In the U.S. and EU5, mobile app audience growth exceeded that of mobile browser growth
41. Facebook app ranks as #3 most popular app for iPhone and #4 for Android users
42. More than half of the U.S. smartphone population used their phone to shop while in a brick-and mortar store
43. In the U.S. and EU5, more than half of mobile users accessing social networks did so on a near daily basis

Final Thoughts
The discussion on how B2B organizations market to their customers and prospects via mobile device will continue to gain intensity in 2012.

What are your thoughts and perspectives on this change and how is your organization planning? We hope to explore these topics in future blog posts but I would love to discuss your feedback via commments below as well.