solomo - what does social, local, mobile mean for brands? (2012)

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Directors Briefing February 2012

So Lo MoSOCIALWill the connections of mobile and social prove critical for brands in 2012?

LOCAL MOBILE

02 / SOLOMO - Social Local Mobile. Will the connections of mobile and social prove critical for brands in 2012?

SOLOMOSocial Local Mobile. Will the connections of mobile and social prove critical for brands in 2012?

What is SOLOMO

SOLOMO is the term coined to represent the convergence of ‘Social Local and Mobile’

The term has gained traction from the growth of mobile usage in three areas:

1. Mobile use on the go. Consumers are increasingly accessing Internet sites and running searches on their mobile phone.

2. Increased use of Geo location and related apps. Geolocation apps like foursquare have seen substantial growth as consumers increasingly ‘check in’ to locations and brands increasingly try to tap into this audience.

3. The increasing relevance of social networks and connections as a means of seeking information and basing decisions on networks of trust.

The convergence of search and social is impacting all aspects of ‘traditional’ digital marketing. The substantial effort of Google+ is being put to improve the Google search results, still the most important marketing and revenue channel for Google and its advertisers. Facebook and Twitter results are also being used to improve search results.

Social channels are increasingly helping improve purchase decisions with consumers turning to their social networks for recommendations. The rise of the niche social network (see previous Directors Briefing on niche social networks) has created dedicated social networks for personal interests. Foodspotting is a great example for the hospitality industry whilst Kevin Rose’s Oink was seeking to allow consumers to rate any place or product they like. (Update it closed as we went to print.)

The combination of consumers increasingly searching on mobile devices for local information (or information relevant to their location) is combining with social recommendation to build the perfect storm for brand opportunity.

What brand sectors is this relevant for?

SOLOMO has the potential to be relevant to all brands as the different elements of SOLOMO impact on all elements of the consumers ‘online’ experience.

Mobile is important for all brands and sectors as consumers are increasingly using mobile devices to access the Internet. This accessing is not just restricted to ‘on the go’ consumption but also critical for the ‘two screen’ activity that is shaping social TV (see the previous Directors Briefing on Social TV.)

Social is also important to all sectors as it has a strong potential for traffic growth, consumer engagement and brand growth.

The local element is relevant to brands with physical locations looking to drive footfall and customer loyalty.

Why is it relevant today?

The convergence to SOLOMO will have a major impact for brands as mobile Internet consumption grows and the major players (Google, Facebook, Microsoft) improve their services to take advantage of these services. Brands that harness SOLOMO will have another dimension to their consumer connection and traffic generation both online and offline.



How Brands can Harness SOLOMO Today, and prepare for tomorrow

SOLOMO benefits aren’t just restricted to using Foursquare. As SOLOMO catches on we look at how brands can benefit today, and prepare for tomorrow.

Ready for Mobile

Most websites should already have a mobile setting to improve the use of their site. Elements such as flash should now be addressed to ensure a unified web experience regardless of access device.

The Search Benefit of Geo Location

For the past decade, the search giants have been trying to second guess what you are searching for. This started with the categorisation of search into channels such as image search, news and shopping. This has continued to evolve with the use of mobile devices and geo location where the ‘phone can ‘tell’ where you are. So, the search has potential to evolve to improve certain search results. For example, if you are searching for pizza delivery in Ipswich, the mobile device (and by association search function) could give you Ipswich results by your location allowing you to simply type in ‘pizza delivery.’ This works to deliver the consumer better results from a shorter search request and helps deliver more tailored results.

Brands that are actively optimised to appear both in search results and location results (e.g. Google Base, Google Local) will have the potential for greater visibility on mobile, local searches.

Driving Footfall and Loyalty with Geolocation

With the absence of Gowalla and pause of Facebook, Foursquare is the current leader for app based footfall. Any business can be registered on Foursquare by adding the venue on a mobile device (at the location) or adding the venue directly on the foursquare.com website. From here any venue can be claimed by a simple verification process (usually a telephone call to the venue.)

Once a location is verified, the owner can gain access to more stats and the ability to offer promotions. However, any business can simply offer ‘mayoral’ deals. Raising awareness of your Foursquare presence across all marketing channels including offline collateral will help raise awareness of the opportunity and encourage visitors to share.

In late 2011 Foursquare acquired Gowalla to improve their location function so we expect to see a major announcement in the near future. Facebook Places still exist and will allow editing of existing locations or the addition of new locations. Adding new locations can only be done on a mobile device at the location. We suggest, wherever relevant, that brands are indexed on Facebook in preparation for future announcements.

Google has quietly built Latitude (www.google.com/latitude) into a potential foursquare competitor. We expect to see more from this branch of Google including better inclusion into search and social (Google Plus) results over time. Again, where relevant we suggest brands are active with Google local results, Google Base and Google Plus. The continued intertwining of Google Plus across all elements of the business points to additional extensions and relevance into SOLOMO.



Experience and Understand the new Geolocation apps

SCVNGR is part game, part game platform. Playing SCVNGR is all about going places, doing challenges and earning points. Players discover cool new places, find fun new things to do, share their activity with friends and can even earn virtual (and sometimes real-world) rewards! Individuals and institutions can build on SCVNGR by adding custom challenges at their favourite places.

www.scvngr.com

Banjo

Banjo is a social discovery service that helps people explore social updates across multiple social networks. Connecting real people in real time, Banjo harnesses

publicly-available information and delivers it to mobile phones in one integrated view.

Ban.Jo

Highlight is a mobile ambient awareness app. When you come within a few blocks of another Highlight user who is your Facebook friend or that you have friends or interests in common with, Highlight sends you a push notification and lets you message them. The app’s homescreen displays a reverse chronological list of all the people you’ve crossed paths with.

Sonar and Glancee are two news apps just launched in this small but increasingly busy ‘find your friends’ space.



The Future of SOLMO

Whilst SOLOMO could be seen as yet another an acronym, we believe the concept of SOLOMO will star to infiltrate across all elements of digital marketing. Like brand relevance, we believe elements of there overall concept, if not the whole concept, will be relevant to brands seeking differentiation or marketing improvement through 2012.

Starting today by identifying opportunities or gaps in the independent areas of social, local and mobile brands can ensure they are best placed for the SOLOMO future.

Wish to discuss this?

As Briefing subscribers you can discuss this with us. Contact [email protected] to schedule a call.

solomo - what does social, local, mobile mean for brands? (2012)

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