As a local business, you may have come across the term SoLoMo. The concept is a fusion of three separate, but equally important, elements of digital marketing: social, local, and mobile.

Put into practice, SoLoMo targets mobile consumers in their current location with content and promotions shared on social networks.

The tactic takes advantage of the fact that people are constantly using mobile devices to seek out new resources of interest through social media, content, and e-commerce.

To understand the concept of SoLoMo and learn how to use it to your benefit, it is necessary to examine its three elements in turn:

Get Social

This facet refers to choosing and utilizing social media platforms in order to promote your content and engage with your target audience. As 71 percent of users access social media on their mobile devices, there is a clear need for businesses to utilize social media. The social platform where marketers typically spend the most is Facebook, at 54 percent; however, Pinterest, LinkedIn, Google+, and Twitter are also popular options.

Think Local

Around 60 percent of mobile users tag their location in social media updates and photo uploads. By taking advantage of these interactions by offering incentives (such as local discounts) to those who check in creates top-of-mind awareness and drives conversion rates.

Furthermore, it is necessary to ensure you have information about your business readily available. The Adobe Mobile Consumer Survey found that 70 percent of mobile users search for local information on their device, and the 2012 Nielson Social Media Report discovered that 78 percent of people use their smartphones to find stores, 63 percent to check prices online, and 22 percent to comment on purchases. That number is only going to continue to rise!

Spend on Mobile

Through mobile, there is a strong connection between a brand and its prospects or customers; therefore, it is essential to invest in mobile advertising. A few statistics show why mobile advertising can have a big impact:

• 46 percent of smartphone users say they have viewed a mobile advertisement
• 64 percent of these people say that an ad enticed them to make a purchase on at least one occasion
• Yet 74 percent of users are still waiting for their favorite brands to appear in mobile advertising

What Does All This Mean for Businesses?

If you are still unconvinced of the importance of SoLoMo, consider this statistic from the Google Mobile Movement Study: 88 percent of consumers call or visit a local business within 24 hours of searching for it on a mobile device.

In order to stay afloat in today’s mobile world, you need to concentrate on developing user experiences that take all three aspects of SoLoMo into account. This can mean different things for different brands; for instance, you may need to increase your accessibility on mobile or improve your  advertising efforts. Other businesses may need to create local-specific deals, discounts, and offers, or perhaps improve their SEO.

In short, embracing SoLoMo means you’re able to successfully keep up with the latest marketing tools and practices to ensure that you are providing your prospects and customers with the right content anywhere, at anytime!