Don’t Get Left Behind – Embrace SoLoMo Today!
Do you SoLoMo? Yes, I realize that sounds like the latest offering from the Starbucks menu, but the acronym stands for social, local, mobile. What you do need to do however, is get your head around why SoLoMo is a very important concept and marketing tool for your small business to utilize.
So what is SoLoMo and why do you want it?
The melding of these three distinct technologies was inevitable. As mobile devices become more and more sophisticated, enabling geo-location services to track every move, it was just a small step into enabling businesses to send notifications to nearby customers. A recent study by the Pew Internet & American Life Project reveals that around 74 percent of smartphone users use them to get information, and approximately 18 percent are using them to check in on local businesses with services like Foursquare. It has brought about both an opportunity and a challenge. More and more mobile users are seeking local products and services, and if your company is not using its social media to connect and draw these people who are out there roaming the streets looking for something to do, eat or buy. It’s your task to make certain they find you before they find someone else!
3 Ways to engage with SoLoMo
- Use social media – By utilizing social media such as Facebook, Twitter and others to interact with and inform your customers and prospects, you’ve found a most effective and low-cost way to build relationship and energize your brand simultaneously.
- Be visible locally – Use local search directories that are appropriate for your company, and actively market to your local customers.
- Spend some on mobile marketing – Mobile ads are returning very good ROIs, since most users who are searching local are out there searching for it in the field. Also, some local advertising solutions are cheap or free, such as check in deal on Facebook or FourSquare.
A great example of SoLoMo in action is exemplified by Walgreens. Checking in with Foursquare gives their customers coupons and a great deal more! SoLoMo isn’t going to do anything but expand exponentially, so spend some time to ensure that your small business is ready for it!
