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SoLoMo is an acronym for social + local + mobile.

SoLoMo is a fusion marketing tactic being used by companies across the world.  The premise behind it is simple:

Since today’s consumers are using social media and mobile devices while accessing the web when searching for local establishments, marketers have realized the importance of combining social + local + mobile factors into one integrated tactic: SoLoMo.

Mobile has become a powerful avenue for marketers because consumers that use mobile devices are a captured audience.

Utilising a SoLoMo tactic allows marketers to reach their audience through mobile devices while they’re on the go.

Along with using their smartphones and tablets to perform searches, consumers are also using their mobile devices to find and redeem coupons and promotions or make purchases, which heightens the importance of adding SoLoMo to your marketing strategy.

If you’re new to SoLoMo, you may not be entirely sure how to implement it into your next marketing strategy. The following tips will help you learn how to best use the latest marketing craze for your business.

Think Foursquare.

Foursquare is a great example of SoLoMo. Foursquare allows customers to virtually check in to locations (the location portion). These customers can then redeem offers through their mobile device (the mobile portion) while also chatting with friends and pushing out these check-ins and offers through social media (the social portion). If you want to implement SoLoMo into your marketing strategy, you’ll want to think like Foursquare.

Make it easy.

If your SoLoMo involves too many bells and whistles or is too difficult to understand, it’s not going to work.

Make sure that your company is listed on Foursquare and Facebook so that your customers can virtually check in, or create your own community that consumers can check in to. When your platforms are easy to use, your audience will be more willing to use them.

Quick and simple systems get shared,  so you will want to make sure that your SoLoMo efforts are easy for your customers to understand.  Make it easy for your then to redeem your mobile offers and make the geo-tracking option easy as well. Then they will share your information through their social channels.

Test your results.

It’s not likely you’re going to create a successful SoLoMo campaign right away, which means you’ll need to test the waters before until you find out what gets the best response from your audience for your product and services.

For example, you may want to create a variety of mobile landing page and offers and track which offers are redeemed most often by your consumers and which don’t see much redemption. This can help you learn which promotions and marketing processes are favored and what generates increased purchases from your consumers.

 Add locations to your web content.

Keywords are important to your online visibility, and it’s important that your web copy contains location-based keywords to help your site be found on mobile device searches.

Adding your address as well as other location keywords can help your website get ranked high on the search engines, and this is great if your customers are using their mobile devices to search for products or services that your company offers.

In reality, it’s likely that you’re already taking steps toward implementing SoLoMo into your marketing strategy—or you may realize that you’re already using it. As long as you continue to think about social, location and mobile, your SoLoMo efforts will come naturally.

Caroline Jones is a freelance writer with years of marketing experience.  She has recently been writing about SoLoMo

So what do you think?

Do comment below if you have something to add to any of the points here or have anything to add to the conversation.

We would love to know,so you use an integrated SoLoMo marketing method?  If so, what are the challenges and benefits you experienced? What areas do you need specific help in implementing – leave us a comment and we will do our best to answer?

We also love it when you remember to +1 (it just takes a moment) and spread the word by clicking ‘like’ in the share box below. We appreciate it ~ thanks.

2012 is rapidly coming to a close and most organized businesses will be well into the final stages of their strategic planning and budgeting  for 2013.

I wonder how many will have the foresight to grasp (and align themselves with) the major shifts and expanding trends that we can expect for 2013.

Frederic Gonzalo  has written a good overview of the what he sees as the major trends for next year. Although the trends are slanted towards in  tourism & hospitality industry this is a great post as it opens up ideas for discussion and gives you a check list to consider that you may not have thought of.

I have listed the 13 points below, however you will want to visit the main article on business2community.com to get the full heads up and broader view.
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The mobile web makes every business local. So what is Google Local and how can it help your business?

If you are a local business owner I’m sure you will agree that local customers regularly use their smart phones  to search for products and services.

Whatever your business,  Google Local is the tool that will help get your business found when people search. Google Local literally puts your business on the map.

For example, let’s say you are looking for a printer

Now, whether you are searching at home on your PC or out and about on your mobile, Google knows roughly where you are. It will find all of the printers close to your location that have a listing on Google Local, and show you:

1. a map of where you can find them
2. some basic details about them

Once you get your search result you have the option to click on any of the links and view more details about that business.

 

Recently Google turned their local search system upside down.

Overnight they  converted over 80 million Google Places pages into Google+ Local Pages. These upgraded  Google+ Local listings are now the first to show up in search results when you are looking for a local service.

Back in 2011 the Google Search mobile landing page followed the same path, making ready for mobile users with an enabled GPS (Smartphone location tracking) to easily find local restaurants, coffee shops, bars, gas stations, and more while they are out-and-about on the go.

The convenience of mobile optimisation allows people to locate, call, see and write reviews of, and get door-to-door directions of any business – simply with the tap of a finger. No wonder the traditional Yellow Pages seems cumbersome, and fewer and fewer people are using it.

 

So what exactly is Google+ Local (Places) and what is Google+ Local Business Page?

Google+ Local works like an online version of the old Yellow Pages – but with added punch. Simply by initiating a local search for businesses in your area it aggregates:

• local business information
• reviews from Google users and credible sites like Yelp and City Search.

Anyone can now easily:

• read customer reviews
• get a business contact phone numbers
• get directions to your location
• post a detailed review and appraisal of your business (with Zagat)
• share information about your business and services with all their G+ contacts and social media friends with one quick click

Just as with Google Places, Google+ Local allows business owners to update and manage their physical business location information.

To do this, you need to claim your FREE Google Places page.

Here is an example of an unclaimed business listing in Google+ Local. I have followed it with an example of a claimed and optimized one. The difference, and the advantage is clear:

Unclaimed business listing in Google+ Local:

 

 

Claimed and optimized business listing in Google+ Local:

 

 

And,  what are the main advantages of Google+ Local and why it’s so important to claim your Google+ Local (Places) page for your business today?

Let me count the ways:

• Local customers searching for your products and services will find you more
• easily.
• GPS tracking brings customers right to your door (with no additional effort
• or expense on your part)
• The latest statistics shows that only a small percentage of local
• businesses have claimed their Google Places pages, so …..
• Having a Google+ Local page will make you stand out from your competitors who have not claimed their listing yet.
• Customer reviews not only build up your online credibility, they also serve as a powerful influence when decide on which service provider or business to frequent.
• Google+ Local’s Dashboard brings you detailed data to analyze your traffic and marketing efforts. For example, do you currently know how many times your business is found through different keyword searches?
• You are able to showcase and promote your business by adding photos and videos to your Google+ Local page.
• Google+ Local is mobile ready, and I don’t need to let you the benefits of that. Mobile users can easily call your business number, get the direction to your office or check customer reviews from his Smartphone.
• You can integrate mobile coupons and special offers via your Google+ Local page to generate leads and encourage customers to come back for more.

If you are an offline local business, I am sure you recognise the tremendous opportunities I am talking about here.

To put it in a nut shell, savvy business owners can grab local search traffic simply by optimizing their Google+ Local business page and embracing mobile as part of their marketing strategy.

 

To take advantage of Google+ Local you don’t even need a website of your own.

 

What many business owners have failed to notice is that Google+ Local page re FREE.

 

However, in a competitive market I would say that it makes sense to invest in a mobile-ready website as well so that you can give local searchers more details of your business, and entice them to try you out (before they visit your competitors) with specially designed mobile lead generation pages and coupons.

We would love to help you set up your Google+ Local (places) page and show you how to make it stand out among your competitors.

As a first step, you can get a FREE e-book: The  Essential Guide to Google+ Local.

You may also want to join a FREE Google+ Local WEBINAR:

Google+ Local For Business

“Everything You Need To Know To Attract
More Customers And Increase Your Revenue”

What You Need to Know About Mobile Before You Commission a Mobile Website Design

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Did you know that a growing number of people are using thier mobile device as the only way they access the Web.

A pair of studies late last year from Pew and from On Device Research showed that over 25% of people in the US who browse the Web on smartphones almost never use any other platform. That’s just shy of 11% of adults in the US, or about 25 million people, who only see the Web on small screens.

There seems to be a growing digital-divide out there.

Mobile is wining, and people who can afford only one screen or internet connection are choosing the phone. If you want to reach them at all, you have to reach them on mobile. So, how can we give this huge audience the best mobile browsing experience?

Here are some tips that will give you an idea of what you need to think about before you commission a new site

Know what your mobile audience wants. Make sure you have clear, quick and easy navigation to the things that people are really searching for like your location, opening hours and directions.

Aim For Short Wins. Smartphone screens are small, and each line is valuable. Be brief and get your message as high up in the email as possible.

Focus on the subject and sender name. In the mobile world, there’s little or no preview pane to see the message body. As a result, a message’s subject and sender name take center stage. Choose a recognizable name for the “from” field and use your subject line as effectively as possible (keep it less than 30 characters).

Consider plain text. As marketers, we want to make things pretty and opt for HTML. However, this practice falls flat in many situations on mobile devices. Consider sending plain text email, particularly for anything that must get into people’s hands, such as account activations, password retrievals, and alerts.

Be Social-Savvy
A comScore report found that 72 million Americans accessed social media from their mobile devices during the month of August 2011 alone. Even more telling is the fact that 50 percent of these users are social networking on a daily basis from their mobile devices. When it comes to incorporating mobile into your social strategy, here are a few things to keep in mind:

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