Relevant, Complex and Contextual

There is a ton of content to choose from on every device and platform…but content does not drive digital marketing like it once did. As people go about their daily lives, they are being bombarded with a deluge of devices, channels and platforms. We all yearn for one simple device that could filter the content to a manageable flow of relevant info.

The creation of one simple device, that will manage this flow, will likely remain elusive. For now, how can marketers help consumers make sense of everything?

With the introduction of smartphones and tablets that integrate GPS to help users locate what’s around them, a term has evolved into what industry experts are calling Social Local Mobile Search (SoLoMo).

What is Social Local Mobile?

Ben Schott, the author of the article SoLoMo, says, “SoLoMo is unique to the mobile device; it doesn’t make sense on the desktop the same way steering columns didn’t fit 19th century horse-drawn carriages. He goes on to say, “And it’s taking form in local discovery. This shuns the search paradigm that ruled the desktop web in favor of pushing things to you. Deals, suggestions or events are pushed based on your check-ins or social activity as you wander across different tiles of the Earth.”

Our context shifts continually during the day: In the morning you might be a mom making breakfast, in the afternoon you are an executive catching up on business news, after work, you are at the gym in a cross-training class. and at night you’re someone looking to get out and have fun with friends. Smart marketing strategies need to combine behavioral – or personal relevance to create an individual digital experience.

A Sensor In Your Pocket: The Future Of Mobile Is User Context

Thomas Husson of Forrester Research, says, “We believe that consumers will “walk through” their own personal Internet experience. What does this mean? Consumers will receive more and more individualized content based on their current context. The Internet will no longer be just a “pull” mechanism, with consumers choosing to access their content in a fixed place; it will become a push-based approach in which information is automatically updated and personalized to match their past behavior and their real-time environment. As the remote control of our daily personal lives, the mobile phone will become both an enabler and recipient of merged physical and digital experiences.”

Do you have a mobile strategy for your business? How are you capitalizing on the social, local, mobile movement?