Mobile value

With social networks and search going mobile the location comes into play for consumers all over the globe. It’s no longer who you are connected to its more and more who and where, the possibility to engage IRL, In Real Life, as an important functionality.

So the common ads that we are now used to see in the search and social network pages are less and less relevant unless they also tap into the location of where the viewer is using the service.

But then comes an interesting effect which Maartje Wouters, Interactive Marketer at Wecanbeheroes, reveals in her book ‘Location-based Services, from hype to hyper’. The consumer doesn’t see ads as enough, 63% think that mobile coupons are the most valuable form of mobile marketing.

So it’s obvious that GroupOn has some serious problems in customer acquisitions with skyrocketing costs and a constant? need  for new investments; could that have anything to do with the fact that they aren’t a social network or search service?

In the light of Google+ launch and what seems to be coming from Facebook, it might be relevant to also look at what Maartje Wouters lists as the six key drivers for mobile marketing value:

• Location search marketing: search engine marketing based on location is one of the most significant developments in location-based advertising.
• Gamification: it is expected that playing games on smartphones and tablets which are linked to location information are becoming more popular.
• Geospatial networking: More and more social networks are being equipped with location information which makes it possible to communicate with people in your close vicinity.
• The use of sensors: Smartphones are being equipped with more and more sensors, which can measure an array of metrics, such as temperature or energy use. This information can be combined with location information.
• Indoor navigation: The combination of different location techniques will make it possible to give more accurate and detailed information about a person’s location in the future. This creates opportunities for indoor navigation and advertising.
• Virtual money: Mobile payments will have a huge impact on the way we perceive money in general.