Yes, we’re in the thick of it… the year that mobile becomes HUGE. Smartphones are becoming more powerful and so are applications. I want to know instantly what my friends are doing, what the stock market is doing, and what’s being said about my company’s brand. But, now I also want to know WHERE my friends are, too. I want to be able to find people and places near me that I can connect with. Mobile social media will be the bridge between online marketing and in-store marketing that we’ve been waiting for.
Example: I’m sitting in a restaurant this past week waiting for a friend to arrive. I break out the iPhone and “check-in” on Foursquare. TA-DAH! I become The Mayor!! Now, if this business was smart, the manager on duty would have had an application that buzzed his cell phone and let him know that “The Mayor” had just checked in. Here’s a great opportunity to have the manager come over to my table and call attention to this fact to other patrons by offering me a complimentary beverage or appetizer… just as a thank-you-for-frequenting-our-establishment. Instant marketing that accomplishes the ultimate goal–> makes the other patrons WANT to come back more to steal the Mayor-ship from me, AND makes me The Mayor feel special and appreciated for frequenting this restaurant.
Would this tactic work for your business? Test platforms and strategies that might. Be creative. The problem with social media without location is that you can’t directly attribute sales to social media. Since we’re now starting to be able to gather more data and we’re dedicating resources to understanding it better, this time next year social media mobile marketing will be in an even better position to justify itself as an efficient sales strategy.
Here’s why…
About Wendi McGowan
[...] being Mayor comes with no material benefit in most cases, though a few business are starting to “reward” their Mayor’s in various ways. It’s simply recognition reinforced with social proof as validated by [...]