Experts at SMX Advanced Seattle offered case studies on how mobile social marketing can help brands reach audiences at the point of sale. During the event's “SoLoMo Revolution: Social Media, Local Search & Mobile Search Collide” session, it became clear that socially advocated mobile content has the potential to boost brand loyalty, and this can boost sales among nearby on-the-go shoppers.
Performics' Nicola Smith started the session with some stats that served as a good reminder for search marketers about their need to enter the mobile space. For instance, there has been a 400 percent increase in mobile searches in the past year. She shared that 63 percent of people use mobile search before purchasing, one in three mobile searches are local and 59 percent of mobile users share content with their friends.
Together, this data points to the rise in social, local and mobile convergence. All of the panelists agreed that brands need to engage in mobile friendly social content marketing to increase the likelihood that they will reach the right person in the right place at the right time with compelling reasons to click. Smith offered her theory that loyalty (via social advocacy) combined with proximity would translate into marketing power to drive nearby leads and sales.
Daniel Lemin of Social Studio offered some nice insight on the SoLoMo purchase funnel (main image), describing how all three layers of marketing are key to sales. Social is necessary to generate brand awareness, mobile marketing reaches audiences when they are considering shopping options and local targeting helps reach nearby consumers who are serious about purchases.
Lemin cites a proftable tasti D lite foursquare deal as an example of success. The campaign sent users mobile coupons that could be validated at specific store locations. As users redeemed the coupons and checked in, they presumably let their friends' know they were nearby, generating more social advocacy for the deal. Overall, the campaign saw a 38 percent CTR. Similarly, Brafton has reported that one branch of Domino's saw sales climb 29 percent largely because of a foursquare promotion. 
Mac Ling from iCrossing agrees that it's important to reach nearby mobile consumers at the point of sale, and he advises they do so by taking advantage of the broad range of Group Messaging tools available. These platforms encompass everything from emerging photo sharing channels to familiar geosocial channels. Ling advises marketers to insert their brands into conversations and gain insight about users' interests. Then, they might offer tailored messages to users precisely when they are local and talking about where to eat, shop, etc.
The data for social, local, mobile marketing results seem somewhat limited, but marketers might take this as a sign that it's a fairly new space, which means there is room for brands to gain early adopters' advantages. Plus, these panelists are clearly not alone in their belief that SoLoMo is the wave of the future: this integrated marketing approach is getting its own SMX conference come December.
