What is SoLoMo?
SoLoMo has emerged from hyperlocal search, the IP mapping of PCs that provides users searching for local information with results in their area. SoLoMo refers to the recently available mobile version of these local search engine results.
The increasingly popular smartphones and tablets incorporate geo-location technology, such as GPS, that provides more accurate results than local searches on a PC. This technology recognizes where the users are and helps them locate and find information about nearby places. SoLoMo is the evolved, more precise and mobile hyperlocal search.
With over half of the population using smart devices, SoLoMo is completely transforming how commerce works. Businesses and consumers alike are gaining from the integration of social media, geo-location technology, and the use of mobile devices.
In an age where people are only satisfied with immediate results, SoLoMo provides information on demand and shortens the gap between consumer and retailer. Wherever a consumer is, he/she gets the latest money-saving deals and coupons. Businesses can create apps that personalize opportunities and customize special offers for individual customers, and thereby build customer engagement and loyalty.
SoLoMo services such as Groupon, Foursquare, and GoWalla recognize consumers’ shopping history, brand loyalty, and geographic proximity and provide those consumers with personalized recommendations.
SoLoMo is leading local advertising. Companies are starting to realize that SoLoMo needs to be incorporated into their business strategy. As we become a society more and more reliant on mobile devices, businesses need to become mobile as well. Very soon, a business that is not mobile will be overcome by competitors that are.
Here are some examples of SoLoMo:
• Facebook – members can check-in using the Places feature
• Shopkick – consumers receive offers and rewards customized to the store they walk into
• ValuText – consumers receive notifications about sales and promotions happening at their current vicinity
• Home Depot, WalMart– make their products 3D on their customers’ smartphones using AR (augmented reality) technology
• Starbucks app – people can search for the store closest to their location
• Walgreens app – customers check-in and receive discounts, create a shopping list, refill prescriptions, and get reminders to take their medicine.
With the growing importance of SoLoMo, it is advised to not only to create a website and have an online presence, but to also make your website mobile and engage your customers via their smartphones. With EXAI's website builder, you can create a professional website that automatically get a free matching mobile site.
Now is the time to take advantage of the increasingly active smartphone-using customer base, gain more customers at little cost, and potentially greatly increase revenue with mobile advertising. As our society becomes more and more dependent on smart devices, SoLoMo will become ever more dominant.
