Emergence and collision of social, local and mobile media is a trend that marketers have been talking about for a while.

Internet and smartphones make consumers more and more powerful each day. For your business, it could be either a good or a bad thing – depends on how you approach it.

On one hand, it is overwhelming to even begin to imagine how much of a decision maker an internet-savvy consumer is today. On the other hand, if you notice main trends and patterns in consumer behavior before anybody else and learn to use them for your advantage, your business will be on top of the game.

We did some research on the direction the trends are taking, and will let you in on a few interesting social and mobile findings and ways some businesses have embraced them.

According to this infographic from Nielsen, 62% of U.S. adults online used their TV and internet at the same time. Another Nielsen study reports that 40% of subscribers use their smartphones and tablets while watching TV.

HSN was one of the first networks to notice the trend and use it for its advantage. Recently, the shopping network began testing onscreen QR codes that take shoppers to HSN’s mobile website or the network’s smartphone app where they could learn more about a product on display. If this attempt proves to be successful, more TV networks might start using the technology, so next time you watch TV, get your smartphone ready to scan some ads. Time will tell whether onscreen QR codes will become widely adopted mobile marketing trend or will be just a passing fad.

KPCB introduced another interesting trend at the Web 2.0 Summit that presents a lot of opportunities for the U.S. in online and mobile marketing. The research claimed that marketers are not investing enough ad dollars into internet and mobile where consumers are spending a lot of their time these days. Social continues to be an important part of the marketing mix with social networks being the #1 online destination.

Discovery Channel with its pretty cool Storm Chasers ad as well as several U.S. retailers have already embraced the untapped potential of mobile marketing and created rich media campaigns that proved to generate higher click-through-rates than static banner ads.

KPCB’s report also mentioned that E-commerce now represents 8% of all retail commerce and continues to grow.

This means that your customers are now less likely to spend time shopping in-store and will rather research, choose and buy a product online, for a better price, and relying on their Facebook friends’ reviews.

So, instead of spending all of your ad budget on driving in-store traffic, also focus on your local internet and mobile marketing strategies. Create exceptional online shopping experience and encourage your customers to leave [positive] reviews about your product/service.

What are some other social, local or mobile marketing trends have you noticed that your business could use?

Share on Facebook ]]> http://lockerpartner.com/2011/10/mobile-local-social-internet-trends-2011-marketing/feed/ 0 http://lockerpartner.com/2010/01/lego-click/ http://lockerpartner.com/2010/01/lego-click/#comments Fri, 15 Jan 2010 15:27:07 +0000 Jason Harper http://lockerpartner.com/?p=874

Lego comes from the Danish for “play well”: leg godt. But earlier this past decade, the toy building block company’s products were doing anything but in the marketplace. In 2004, Lego charted a $344 million loss.

It took a new strategy to rebuild Lego, one that involved designing products based on Hollywood blockbusters like Indiana Jones and Star Wars. These tie-ins saved the company.

And while more are reportedly planned, such as a Toy Story line for the June ‘10 release of the third sequel in the Disney movie franchise, Lego is still all about encouraging its customers to use their own imaginations.

Lego’s newly relaunched and rebranded site, Lego CL!CK, reflects this philosophy beautifully. And like the toy itself (and also like so many other companies that have rebuilt their sites to incorporate social networking) CL!CK encourages users to build their own experience by uploading photos, videos and blog posts and by tracking Lego-related tweets.

There’s also sharp original content, like this delightful stop-motion short. No X-Wings here.

And what would a relaunch be without a groovy iPhone app? Lego has one of those too — it turns any photo into a Lego mosaic. [iTunes link]

What’s best about this new approach is that it seems to be all about attracting young Lego fans by showing what old-school fans already know: Lego is a virtually limitless extension of the imagination. Sure, the Death Star has its appeal, but at heart, Lego is not George Lucas.

And that’s a good thing.

Via FastCompany

Lego lightbulb courtesy the Smithsonian