Professional social network LinkedIn claims that mobile page views for the site increased 400 percent from 2010 to 2011.

In LinkedIn?s ?2012 Consumer Electronics? report, the company gives some interesting insight into how mobile consumers are accessing the site. In addition to the study?s findings, 200 million searches and half a billion profiles were accessed on LinkedIn via mobile in 2011.

?Mobile devices are core to a professional?s productivity,? said Hani Durzy, director of corporate communications at LinkedIn, Mountain View, CA.

?Put simply, we want to work where our members work and we are focused on connecting the world?s professionals with relevant insights and information that make them more productive and successful wherever they may work ? in or out of the office,? he said.

Mobile network
LinkedIn polled 1,602 consumers in the study that were equally divided between LinkedIn members and a random poll of U.S. online consumers. The study was conducted online and answers were collected from Dec. 1 ? 7.

According to the study, LinkedIn members are more likely to be mobile device owners. Seventy-seven percent of LinkedIn members owned or used a smartphone on a monthly basis. To compare, 51 percent of the sample of U.S. online users said they used or owned a smartphone monthly.

Email was a particularly popular feature for LinkedIn owners who owned a smartphone with 94 percent of consumers accessing it. Seventy-two percent of consumers used email on their devices.

Other popular activities for both groups in the study included search, location-based services and social media.

Ninety-three percent of the LinkedIn members surveyed were more likely to make a purchase on their mobile device. Additionally, 209 percent of LinkedIn users were more likely to scan a bar code on their mobile device than the average U.S. online consumer.

Tablet ownership or usage made up 40 percent of LinkedIn members surveyed. Twenty-two percent of the group of general online consumers said they either owned or used a tablet.

Two-thirds of tablet owners used the devices for both personal and work purposes, showing the growing role that tablets are playing for both consumer and business use.

The survey also asked consumers to pick mobile devices for their wish list.

At the top of LinkedIn users? lists were tablets with 43 percent, iPhone devices with 25 percent and ereaders with 20 percent. For the other group of general online consumers, 34 percent of consumers wanted a tablet, 20 percent wanted an iPhone and 18 percent asked for an Android smartphone.

Top mobile picks
The LinkedIn study is proof that social media networks are increasingly being accessed via mobile.

Facebook recently reported that 300 million users accessed the site via mobile (see story).

More importantly the study shows how social network users are engraining mobile into both their personal and professional life.

By using mobile services, social media marketers have the possibility to bolster their existing efforts and adapt them for mobile platforms.

However, social media does present interesting challenges for mobile messages because of the way advertisements appear on the mobile versions of social media sites.

2012 is expected to bring new innovations in social media mobile advertising with both Twitter and Facebook rumored to be developing new mobile advertising opportunities.

?In the last six months alone we have made it incredibly easy and more organized for professionals to access the key features used most by mobile professionals,? Mr. Durzy said.

?We know there is a huge appetite for mobile access to LinkedIn and we are continuing to work to ensure we are delivering the best possible mobile experience to our members,? he said.

Final Take
Lauren Johnson is editorial assistant on Mobile Marketer, New York