As part of the human race, it’s in our nature to combine words at the detriment to both the english language and the people afflicted by such names. For example, then infamous Ben and Jen: Benifer, or Brangelina, Kimye, should I keep going? Because it is 2012 we now have the technology to support both the social (our) AND business needs. SoLoMo not only helps merchants get messages directly to their consumers, it too allows the consumer to have a personalized shopping experience or ”impression”(thus yielding a positive relationships and brand recognition.) Needless to say, since everyone uses social media, businesses everywhere are seeing the need for many types of social media channels. Social Media, Location/Local Based Commerce, and Mobile capabilities= So(cial) Lo(cal) Mo(bile).

What is SoLoMo?
By definition, according to the New York Times, SoLoMo is a Portmanteau term for the meeting of Social, Local, and Mobile Media. Basically, you and your company (or brand) should incorporating into your Marketing Strategy to include these new channels because: you can’t avoid them.

Image Source: http://www.simpartners.com/preparing-your-brand-for-solomo-success/

Social:
Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Google+, Foursquare, Groupon, all are considered “social media sites.” You can (and should) participate in each by creating accounts and finding potential clients and buyers through these methods (think of it as social lead generation). Social Media is a goldmine for personal data and researching the demographic of your market because consumers opt-in to your company by following, liking, connecting, etc. Facebook is currently dabbling in Location Services by adding the “location” feature, check-in via Places, local Deals, and etc. They definitely can do more with their location services– and I’m sure they will.

Mobile
Over 50% of all searches are now done on mobile devices *http://slmtechnology.com/solomo/. This means that it’s no longer enough to have a website— you need a mobile site, social sites, directory sites, etc. Do you have a Mobile site? You need to assess you accessibility from a mobile device…. Like right now.  For example, apps like FourSquare and Yelp! have both allowed the mobile and social world to meet (obviously at a place of business=Local commerce).

Location/Local:
The Yellow Pages, magazines, and newspapers used to dominate the local media sphere–with the rise of technology and Social Media, ‘local’ has now expanded beyond traditional types of media, to creating entirely new types of marketing channels.

Companies like Groupon, Yelp, and foursquare make it easy for Businesses and retailers to use SoLoMo and geo-location because each tracks your exact location. It’s technological tactics like this that allow consumers to find them through Mobile Applications or Google searches and continue to go back. Location based searching is one of the most crucial components to SoLoMo because it’s free publicity!

Example:
Starbucks:
 The best business to adopt the SoLoMo strategy is good ole Starbucks Coffee. A soccer mom,  driving her car, swatting children, is craving a Venti Latte from Starbucks. This Mad Mom in a Mini-van can search (using an Mobile app, Google, etc) for the store closest to her location. Some Starbucks  locations have even implemented the “order ahead” option: if you’re in a hurry and still HAVE to have your Venti Frapp before you start your day in approx. 9 minutes, you can order it on the way, and it will be ready when you are. Everything from FourSquare to hashtags, Starbucks seems to have mastered the SoLoMo technique.

There is no “secret formula” to SoLoMo success– but there are major components that are crucial to the success of your Marketing Campaigns (both on and offline).

[SOcial + LOcal+ MObile]

Summary:
Incorporate the SoLoMo strategy into your Marketing or Business Development. Since technology seems to keep increasing (like the Google driver-less car??), it looks like Marketing will be too. Marketers need to keep a close eye on the latest developments, because there are many, and they shouldn’t be ignored.