From what I read, it seems the latest trendy buzzword is “SoLoMo.” Everybody is talking and writing about social features, local business (i.e. coupons) and mobile applications. That’s fine, but if the Internet’s future is SoLoMo, why is Groupon postponing its IPO? Why is Facebook dropping Places and Local Deals? The truth, once again, is that the market is overreacting to a tarte-à-la-crèmenotion that cries out for some understanding.
Don’t get me wrong: I truly believe in the social and mobile revolutions. Otherwise, I wouldn’t be writing two blogs on these subjects (for you French speakers: MediasSociaux.fr andTerminauxAlternatifs.fr). My objective here is to help you better understand the opportunities and the limitations of SoLoMo.
How can you create social when everything already issocial?
It’s been approximatiely four years since we started hearing and reading about social media. In less than five years, newcomers like YouTube, Twitter or Tumblr have became audience behemoths. The social media wave is so huge that it has permanently shifted users’ expectations and habits. That said, you still have to figure out what to do with the elephant in the room: Facebook.
Facebook, is arguably the most popular social platform of Westerns countries, driving most attention and budgets. Except in very specific business cases, every brand has to be there. But the problem is this: Grabbing users’ attention on Facebook means competing with their personal network (updates and photos from friends and family), towering brands (Coca-Cola, Starbucks, Harley-Davidson…) and planetary stars (Lady Gaga, Justin Bieber…). How can an everyday brand break through in that overheated environment? Even if your brand will be on Facebook anyway, the hard truth is that you will have very few chances to grab users’ attention. To be more precise: Competition is so strong that you will have no choice but to attract members with ever more expensive gifts and coupons. And we all know that’s the worst way to start a brand-customer relation.
Another option would be to avoid direct competition on Facebook and to use Facebook Connect on your site to gather fans and “likes.” But again, you will be only one among an infinite number of websites providing social features through Facebook Connect. As if that’s not enough, the worst is that this pattern is also true on YouTube and Twitter. Back to square one: How to exist and differentiate?
Don’t confuse the recognition that the social gold rush is over with pessimism: All the quick-win tactics already have been tried by your competitors. So if you really want to use social media as a lever for business and profitability, envision a much more ambitious approach than a viral video or a Facebook Page.
First, every department in your organization should be involved in your social media presence: Communications, Marketing, CRM, HR, Quality, IT… Second, top management must also be involved in order to allow full transparency and honesty in the social interactions you should have with your (discussions, collaborative feedback, etc.).
Mobility is not only about the iPhone
The iPhone is to mobile Internet what Facebook is to social media: The tree that hides the forest. Even if the iPhone is the most emblematic smartphone on the market, it only represents a portion of the global market, in fact a portion shrinking by the day thanks to Google and its free Android mobile operating system. What we have witnessed since the launch of Android is only foreplay for Google’s strategy. For sure, the demand for iPhone is still quite strong and will continue that way with the upcoming iPhone5. But low-cost smartphones powered by Android will soon flood the market and ensure Google’s domination. So…if you think you’re safe because you’ve just launched or updated your iPhone application, think again.
Another trend to catch your attention: the advent of tablets and connected TV (Smartphone is the first step towards escaping PC dependency). Because these alternative devices have very specific display and interaction constraints, your entire online presence will be jeopardized in a couple of years. The good news is we know this is coming, and you still have some time to anticipate this shift (from desktop-based online usage to mobile and diversified usages).
The best way to prepare your brand and activity for this change is certainly not to subcontract the development of an iPad or a connected TV app. Of course, there is a long learning curve to master those platforms. But the real change is not about programming language or display constraints. Rather, it’s about users’ changing behaviors and expectations. So your priority should be to rethink your offer and your business model to better fit with those new behaviors and expectations.
Local business is more about local than business
Finally, we have the local deals tsunami. In less than three years, newcomers like Groupon managed to build an empire on local deals (hiring hundreds of local sales rep and acquiring European competitor CityDeal). Once considered as the new Eldorado of e-commerce, local deals are now suffering very bad press, and Groupon’s recurring rumors of near-bankrupty forced it to postpone its IPO to an “undefined” date.
But Groupon’s outrage shouldn’t make you underestimate the potential of local business empowered by social media and mobile devices. There is indeed lots of opportunity, but not for everyone (The Truth About Groupon: Yes, It Can Make Money – No, It Won’t Be Easy). To make a long story short: You need more than Facebook-spreaded local coupons to succeed in localizing your business.
Even if some can replicate the success of Twitter-empowered taco-like trucks and Foursquare-empowered trendy fashion shops and bars, adding a local dimension to your campaigns and offers is a long play. Once again, it’s not about choosing the right tool (Foursquare vs. Gowalla, Groupon vs. Living social), but, rather, about rethinking your customer policy and business model from a local perspective.
It’s all about change management and good content
Ok. If SoLoMo is not what they say but can still be considered as very disruptive, we arrive at THE question: Where do you start? My call would be to create a change-management program. As I said, sub-contracting a community manager or an iPhone app developer won’t help. To benefit from the SoLoMo revolution, you first must convince your staff to rethink your whole business approach around social, mobile and local perspectives. Once they share your vision and ambition, it will be far easier to implement the required changes in their daily work. Otherwise, you will suffer strong internal resistance that, in turn, slow the evolution process and eventually force you to sub-contract. You already heard what I said about that.
The second step would be to invest in quality content, which is what the Internet is all about content. Investing in quality content means betting on what has made the web so successful. With quality content, you can: Tell great stories that boost your brand (branded content); value your products (quality images and videos, full descriptions); create loyalty among your clients; improve your SEO; stimulate social interaction (comments, RTs, likes); extend the presence of your messages and offers; and develop new services and revenue opportunities.
In brief, it’s the content, stupid. No content = no business. iPhone apps, Facebook pages or local coupons will never compensate for a lack of quality content. Good content is the main ingredient to a reliable and profitable relation with your customers, one not based on low prices or coupons.
I’m the last guy to question the disruptive potential of mobility or social media. I’m just warning you against false expectations of SoLoMo. So click away from this post with this thought: Focus first on quality content, then on leveraging it thought social, local and mobile tactics.
Source- forbes
