Locally Aware Ads To Hit AT&T Phones

Mobile carrier AT&T will be the first US mobile phone carrier to introduced locally aware adverting it has branded ShopAlerts. Although ShopAlerts is being introduced in major markets like New York, Chicago, San Fransisco, and LA with major brands like K-Mart and Kohls you can already use many popular social networking sits to get similar results. This is the beginning of a growing trend that allows you to reach your customers when they are near your place of business and most llikely to visit. If you have not considered leveraging mobile technology in your marketing strategy not is the time to begin. We can help get you listed, noticed, and located on many existing online social networks and review sites.

The innovative ShopAlerts by AT&T service will provide consumers with valuable offers, rewards, and coupons based on their specific geographic location. AT&T creates a "geo-fence" – a virtual-perimeter around a retail location, event, or any geographic area – in order to deliver appropriate location-specific messages. Participating consumers receive relevant marketing messages when they are inside a geo-fence, benefiting both consumers and marketers.

The Social Network Of World Domination

If you thought Facebook was reaching it's peak reach and value then you have missed what Mark Zuckerberg will be unleashing this year. "phones with a deeper social integration". What does this mean? Well Facebook has already started reaching more users through SMS services on dumb phones and now with a new "Facebook for SIM" integration for dumb phones, Facebook will reach the millions of users with mobile phones in developing countries without the heavy burden of full data fees. Many teenagers don't have the luxury of full data plans but gladly can adapt to feature phone Facebook usage models. What this means for marketing is you will have a more mobile audience than ever and even more reason to focus our pages on content that can be mobile deployed. More on the details here.

“You don’t need a data plan to run this application. You don’t have to configure your phone. You just put the SIM in the phone and a Facebook-enabled application will open up,” added Mr. Schreiber

Are You On The Path?

There are several pathways customers take to find a local business. Traditionally signage, word of mouth, or the phone book were the primary tools. Today more people are using their mobile phone and the evolving locally aware information technologies.

Here is a brief about six of the most popular pathways to your storefront that can be used attract new customers.

Yelp has been providing reviews and online business listings since 2004. With over 45 million visits and 15 million reviews, Yelp has a strong user base to court. Yelp also has applications for the major smart phone brands so customers can quickly navigate to your doorstep.

Foursquare makes visiting local businesses an adventure by creating competition with users who can earn virtual badges and by awarding frequent visitors the prestige of being mayor of your establishment. Founded in 2008 it's popularity has grown exponentially ever since.

Google & Facebook both have their respective places service. Google leverages it's Android might using maps, GPS, and a new review feature called Hotpot. Facebook Places is a new location aware feature with "Check-ins" similar to Foursquare. Add it's mobile application and you put it's huge user-base into action. Both services are sure to get more people exploring new places to visit and share with friends.

Urbanspoon claims to be "the world's leading provider of time-critical dining data." Focused on restaurants and eateries, it's bread and butter is reviews and ratings. If you want to feast on the spoon's huge user group be aware that they love to eat up photos so your menu and potentially your menu items will be eye candy for all to enjoy. Presentation is everything.

Gowalla keeps the simple in social-local discovery services. A great way to explore the world around you, Gowalla supports most mobile gadgets and introduces you to places of all types world wide. The service is said to be giving some competition to Foursquare but I have yet to give this a full test drive. I'll keep you posted as to what I find.

The bottom line is if your virtual billboard is not on the all of the roads that lead to your customers they are less likely to find there way into your establishment. Let Sociable Guerrilla place you on the map. Contact us and see how easy and quickly you can be the destination.

Get Ready For Impact!

If you're not already making an impact in your community we can help. Sociable Guerrilla is ready to set you up for success by getting your business noticed. We develop and maintain multiple channels of unique and attractive communication tools that create new customers and keep them coming back for more. Our combination of promotions and social marketing portals deliver results for less than what you expect to pay for traditional advertising. Contact us right away for a free, no-obligation marketing road map and let us start directing traffic to your business today.