The Collision of Social Media, Local Search Marketing and Mobile Apps

Marketing seemed simple in the days of billboards and yellow pages. Now yellow pages go straight from porch to recycle bin. Billboards and other conventional methods are no longer creating the pull they once were.

This shifted people to one of the new forms of marketing that have grown increasingly popular. The popular methods are listed below

    * Social Media Marketing is about socializing with your potential market.
    * Local Search Engine Optimization is about optimizing and marketing to your local market.
    * Mobile Apps and Marketing is about reaching your consumers where they are by reaching them on their phones.

Which one is right for my business?

Many business owners faced a problem of deciding which one of these three would be the right decision for their business. What may be good for you as the business owner may not be where the target market is. Thus you might try choosing the marketing that reached the majority of your target market. That would have worked just a couple years ago, but the market changed.

How did marketing change?

Just like the yellow pages, single format marketing is fading in reliability and reach. Ignoring two or one of the marketing formats means your market reach is no longer growing. This is why SoLoMo is the growing trend.

This hybridization of Social Media, Local SEO and Mobile App Marketing is able to reach a larger majority of the market. People are able to use their mobile devices to do a local search on businesses and check social media sites for additional reviews.

Why did marketing change?

Smartphones and mobile devices are being implemented by ever-increasing numbers. In fact, international research firm Parks Associates forecasts over 2 billion people worldwide will own at least one smartphone in 2015, with unit sales growing over 175% from 2010. This means that businesses that leave mobile off their marketing budget will suffer.

Where a computer would base local on the IP address, the mobile device gives location-based on physical location. When a person searches for a coffee shop nearby, it gives shops that are close to where that person is physically and how far away. If the person has a favorite type of coffee shop like Starbucks, then they may even have a mobile app that shows them the closest location.

What about social media?

While that is location-based mobile apps, social media is far from being excluded. Your potential customer may go directly from location search to social media to ask friends and family for personal reviews. They may choose Yelp or social apps like Foodspotting to see other reviews.

Social doesn't stop at your door. The person may check in via Foursquare, Facebook or other social site. This could be an invitation for others to join them or create conversation. Your visitor may take pictures via their phone, or add social media commentary or even write reviews about the experience with you.

Then the SoLoMo process repeats itself with the next customers who look for your business. Your customers and clients are basing their buying behavior on this SoLoMo cycle, so ignoring it is a risky move. Start your SoLoMo marketing now.

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