A study carried out by IBM has found that people expect mobile devices to play a big part in the future of the web. This research is likely to be of interest to those involved in mobile marketing techniques.

The research revealed that more than 50% would swap their PC for a mobile device when browsing the Internet. By 2011, 39 percent of people surveyed (600) said they expect to increase Internet use on their mobile by at least 40 percent.

However, the same upward trend was not apparent in every situation. The study suggests consumers prefer to shop and bank on their PC, while accessing services such as email and social networking via a mobile device are expected to increase the most.

An increase in Social Networking on mobiles relates to the upward trend of small firms being attracted to the social networking scene for marketing purposes. In a recent study by SurePayroll it was found that 55% of small firms felt they could benefit from having a presence on platforms such as Facebook and LinkedIn, where such businesses can reach their consumer directly.

Commenting on the findings, SurePayroll online marketing manager David Rohrer said small firms were beginning to "recognise the benefits" of using social networking.

News Source – BusinessStrata.com, TradingMarkets.com