SoLoMo: The Basics You Need to Know

Social, local, mobile.

That’s what SoLoMo means, for those of you that may have been vacationing under a rock for the last couple of years. But here at Asking Smarter Questions, we like to think of it as the future of integrated digital marketing. Much like we have been telling you for years to banish the silos within your business, this integrated marketing landscape is happening now and shows no signs of slowing down. Why banish silos? Because it improves internal communication, which improves external communication and allows you to reach your customers more efficiently. For SoLoMo, it’s the same. By improving the way social, local and mobile search integrate, it improves users’ search results and helps them find your business more easily.

So how you can best leverage this trend?

Claim your places pages on search engines.

Fill everything out completely: address, phone number, directions, etc. Think about the last time you were searching for something on your mobile phone; if you couldn’t find it, you got frustrated and probably abandoned that particular search. Their location is documented by their browser so they’ll be served locations of businesses that are nearby. If your address isn’t on your places page, you won’t show up. Simple as that. The easier you make it on your customers to find you, the more often they’ll find the information they need (hello, leads and sales).

Make your site mobile-friendly.

For the same reason that you have to claim your places pages, you have to make your site mobile-friendly in order for customers to find information quickly and easily. If you’re a restaurant, make the menu easy to access. If you’re a retailer, make the “buy now” button bigger (think about your thumb and an iPhone).

Develop an app if necessary.

People love apps. Seriously. Developing an app (if it fits your business goals) could be the smartest decision you ever made. Plus, it gives you the opportunity to collect more information about your key demographic and cultivate a community of brand advocates.

Engage across social channels.

You don’t have to be everywhere, but you should be a few places. The fact is that a huge portion of the world is on Facebook and Twitter, and if you’re not capturing their attention, another brand is. Additionally, social reviews and recommendations continue to gain weight in customers’ minds and search engines’ algorithms. Your brand doesn’t need to be there; it has to be there.

Consider conquesting.

Have you heard about mobile conquesting? It’s a great way to basically buy your competitors’ brand terms without buying them. Instead, when someone searches for your product or service while in a competitors’ location, your ad will be served that urges them to come to your business instead. It uses geo-fencing to capture the attention of your competition’s customer.

These are just a few of the things you should look into when figuring out how to leverage SoLoMo for your business. All of these things can be done easily and will inevitably send you more qualified leads and a greater volume of sales. SoLoMo marketing initiatives integrate seamlessly to present the best search results to consumers, so you have to implement all three into your digital strategy.

Read more:

• 3 Essential C’s for Reaching the SoLoMo Mom: Context, Content, Constant