With the avalanche and proliferation of smartphones, applications for smartphones, and the adoption rates

Pew Research Mobile Statistics

• 28% of American adults use mobile and location-based services
• 28% of cell owners use phones to get directions or recommendations based on their current location
• 9% of internet users set up social media services such as Facebook, Twitter, or LinkedIn so that their location is automatically included in their posts on those services
• 10% of smartphone users have used a geosocial service
• Smartphone owners ages 18-49 are more likely than those over 50 to use either geosocial or location-based services on their phones

The Anatomy of a Foursquare Deal Done Right: Hotel Los Gatos

Our best experience with a Foursquare deal was during a recent local weekend trip. The Hotel Los Gatos, in beautiful Los Gatos, CA, created a smart check-in special for their guests. Guests that check-in on Foursquare to the the Hotel Los Gatos receive a $10 credit for their in-room mini bar. That’s it? Here is what the deal delivered to us and to the Hotel:

• Mini Bar: the Hotel priced their alcohol and food items very reasonably. Due to there price structure, we were able to enjoy two premium beers (Heineken) and a food item- jar of almonds.
• Goodwill: the moment we confirmed our “free” Foursquare deal at the front desk, we felt a sense of goodwill. We felt the establishment would take care of us, provide us great customer service, and that they cared about our perception of them
• Economic Impact: Because the hotel invested in us, we invested in two more food items and a split of wine. Net result: we spent $18 on mini bar items we would have never touched
• Onsite Sales: materials in the mini bar, branded with the Hotel Los Gatos’s in house restaurant Dio Deka, led us to investigate the restaurant. Although we did not stay for dinner, we will return to the restaurant for a future night out

How Can Businesses Attract More Foursquare “Check-Ins”?

• Simplicity: create a simple, valuable offer that people will enjoy. Give your product, service, or expertise in a manner that is generous enough to make a visitor feel special yet economical enough to make sense for your business
• Top Down: ensure that everyone in your business, and most importantly those people coming in contact with the public, understand the Foursquare offer
• Give It Away: do not create an offer that requires consumers to spend triple digits before receiving something in return. Instead give away your product, service, or expertise first. Give first before asking for something in return
• Ensure They Return: create an offer that provides an incentive for consumers to return to your establishment
• Rewards Card: in step with keeping your consumers coming back, create a geolocation check-in rewards card. Allow consumers to accumulate points. Brand the points with your name and logo. Give them something to keep in their wallet or purse, something they will show friends, and something that is elegant enough to inspire them to continue to carry it with them

As we have learned from Jon Cooper CMO of PhindMe Mobile, a mobile Web strategy is one of the most important marketing trends of 2010. Once you have launched your mobile Web strategy, the next step is to formulate your promotional marketing campaigns using your new technology.

4  Steps To Creating Mobile Web Marketing Campaigns

1. Opt-In Database: begin building your list of cell phone numbers by “providing your target audience with multiple opportunities to register to be on your text messaging list.” Place signs in your brick n mortar stores, on your website or blog, and in advertisements that inform your audience of your mobile Web presence
2. Incentive to Join: create an incentive for your audience to join your opt-in list. Exclusive information, deals, discounts, or events can be part of the incentives to join or sign-up
3. Exclusive Offers Alert: create exclusive offers for your text message list members. These offers could include “secret events”, previews, or sales. Then alert your members to be on the lookout for upcoming events
4. Word of Mouth: motivate your list members to forward your exclusive offer links to their friends in order to prospect for new list members and viral market your mobile website

Jon Cooper of the Philadelphia Business Journal wrote a great article outlining five reasons companies must have a mobile strategy in their marketing plan. Cooper identifies “commonsense tactics” that need to be incorporated into your current marketing strategy in order to launch your moble Web strategy.

3 Marketing Strategies to Launch Your Mobile Web Strategy

• Cell Phone Numbers: begin capturing cell phone numbers by asking for this information along with the “typical” consumer contact information in your opt-in customer relationship management efforts
• Web Pages: due to technology issues, your current website-blog can not be read by cell phone users. The answer is to establish your own mobile web page (website) that is cell phone “friendly” allowing mobile users to easily read your content
• Text Call To Action: “obtain text message response capability”-this allows you to add call to action text to your advertisement or marketing messages. Example: text ‘coupon’ to 77860 to opt-in for your complimentary sample

Jon Cooper of the Philadelphia Business Journal wrote a great article outlining five reasons companies must have a mobile strategy in their marketing plan. After a close examination of each reason, we have come to the conclusion that mobile is not just a necessary strategy but a must have strategy.

5 Reasons Your Company Must Support a Mobile Strategy

1. Mobile Adoption: “Four  or five  times as many people have cell phones as have PCs.”

Innerarchitect: With the explosion in mobile phones,  PCs will be going the way of the cord tethered land line phone-obsolescence

2. Mobile Content: “digital content hitches a ride in the consumer’s pocket and may literally guide him/her to your store or office.”

Innerarchitect: mobile users who share content, in real time, can share positive and negative experiences about your business. If you are not there to answer them they will leave this information unchecked on one of the hundreds of review sites (Yelp) available to them

3. Text Performance: “text messages far outperform e-mails in key metrics such as open rate. Ninety-five (95%) percent of text messages are typically opened inside the first 15 minutes. Your e-mail outreach program is struggling to maintain double digit open rates inside of several days.”

Innerarchitect: the open rate and time frame of open, 95%, far out performs the traditional open rates (15-25%) of e-newsletters or email marketing campaigns.

4. Links: “text messaging is short but they have the ability to carry, deliver shortened urls to a strategically targeted audiences.”

Innerarchitect: this is a huge advantage in delivering messages in real time that provide call to action lead generation for a business

5. Mobile Web Pages: “the combination of text messaging and mobile Web pages are “a powerful means of communicating important information to your audience.”

Innerarchitect: this is the key to the next generation of online communication and a wave that should not be missed.