SoLoMo has become a major component of online marketing plans and successful integrated campaigns. The convergence of social, local, and mobile encourages marketers to stop thinking of these initiatives in silos and start thinking of these initiatives as one integrated strategy.

In 2013, SoLoMo will play a role in every multi-channel campaign that aims to reach customers before, during, and after a hotel booking or conversion for greater impact and customer retention. According to Margaret Mastrogiacomo, senior manager, interactive media & creative strategy, HeBS Digital. SoLoMo should account for at least 3-4% of the total 2013 digital marketing budget.

The lure of combining brand advertising with hyper-local targeting and immediate call-to-action promotions continues to attract advertisers. 

Indeed, travel companies acknowledge the significance of targeting mobile users, especially smartphone owners, who are increasingly looking product or services within the vicinity of their location. A few things stand out when working on location-based campaigns for consumers on the move.

Firstly, it is all about mobile search and a site that has been optimised for mobile. Secondly, it’s about making the most of the many features smartphones offer. Just one example of this is augmented reality where by pointing a smartphone at a business, a user receives info about that company on the screen. And let’s not forget user-generated content and its utility in the decision-making process. So imagine a scenario where a smartphone user receives a local promotion, then tries to access it by finding relevant information. This may include checking authentic reviews before making the final purchase.

In sync with digital behaviour

SoLoMo has shaped the travel space in 2012 to become more personalised. The central focus is on real-time customer service to answer guests’ immediate needs during the travel experience. According to Margaret Mastrogiacomo, senior manager, interactive media & creative strategy, HeBS Digital SoLoMo was the catalyst for some important changes in 2012. “It has helped digital marketing evolve to become more seamlessly integrated with customers’ innate digital behaviours,” she says, highlighting that social is about sharing travel experiences, mobile is about being on-the-go facet and local relates to accessing information from our immediate surroundings.

“One of the best examples of SoLoMo in 2012 was when Google merged over 80m Google Places listings with Google+ to come up with Google+ Local pages. By integrating reviews from customers’ Google+ Circles, these pages offer relevant local and social content in mobile search results for instant access to more dynamic social content on-the-go,” she says.

New trends

In 2012, the industry also witnessed a rise in social and geo-targeting technology. This accesses users’ location and demographic data based on publicly available social media activity to better target consumers, says Mastrogiacomo.

Another important development last year was SMS geo-fencing - namely a virtual perimeter for a real-world geographic area that can be dynamically generated as a radius around a place of business or location.

It was also the year for more social integration into mobile websites to serve more relevant and personalised content to website visitors. “Through the use of social integration such as ‘Facebook Connect’, travel brands could tap into social demographic data such age, gender, and interest, to prioritise more relevant content to mobile users who are in need of quick access to the most important information to meet their immediate needs,” she says.

Top tips: how to plan for SoLoMo?

In 2013, travel marketers first need to cover the basics (1-4) says Mastrogiacomo. Once you’ve covered the basics, you’ll be ready to take your your SoLoMo strategy to the next level (5-8):

The list includes:

1. Optimise local content:Make sure that all local content (Google+ Local, Yahoo Local, Bing Local) is accurate and optimised for the search engines – this is where mobile directories and mobile-mapping services draw location info.

2.Mobile website: Ensure that you have a mobile-friendly version of the brand website featuring easy-to-read, relevant content optimised for mobile search engines.

3. Mobile SEM: In case of mobile SEM campaigns, the copy should be created particularly for mobile users and the mobile search engines.

4.SMS and location-based marketing: Engage your customers in real-time with SMS marketing and location-based social networks. From encouraging check-ins to offering local mobile coupons and deals, it’s imperative to incentivise social sharing and focus more on local engagement in 2013.

5. Make your mobile website location-aware.The focus should be on ‘location-aware’ mobile sites, offering content relevant as per users’ location. This is especially significant for multi-property hotel brands, as users are automatically delivered information about the property that is closest. This sort of functionality also paves the way for hotel companies to blend real-time customer geo-location with their demographic and psychographic info and introduce time - and location-relevant promotions.

6.Engage local consumers on a deeper level.Make appropriate use of check-in promotions and rewards via location-based social networks and SMS geo-fencing. SoLoMo helps in aligning digital strategy with customers’ lifestyles and online behaviours and strengthen ties during and after the guest experience. Leverage such initiatives to offer more targeted marketing messages based on one’s location and boost the guest experience with social media campaigns, competitions, and check-in campaigns.

5.Work on personalisation. Make use of customers’ social demographic data to deliver more personalised and relevant content on the mobile site and to foresee customers’ needs and step up the conversion rate.

6. Invest in social media mobile advertising.Social networks such as Facebook have rolled out a number of mobile advertising opportunities for marketers to reach mobile users in the social space. Once you have a deep understanding of your customers' social and mobile behaviour, consider investing in the mobile ad units that are best suited for your customers. Start with a small budget, determine metrics for measuring success, and adjust your strategy based on results.

To hear more about how social and mobile are changing the way the travel industry does business, join us in San Francisco from March 18-19 for Social Media & Mobile Strategies for Travel 2013