Location based marketing is the current hot topic in marketing and it is turning out to be a critical tool to attract and retain customers, particularly for offline businesses. Just about any business that is interested in connecting with a local audience can derive major benefits from location based marketing.

There are several web platforms vying with each other to build that bridge between offline and online marketing efforts. Examples are Foursquare, Facebook Places, Brightkite, Google Buzz, Yelp and Gowalla. These applications aim to connect online customers to offline businesses.

If you have a business with a retail location, make sure you claim your business on these sites and test-drive them to see if they bring traffic and customers to your business. Based on this, you can decide whether you need to focus your marketing efforts towards these.

Foursquare, Facebook – why should you care?

The fact is, Foursquare has seen an amazing increase in traffic during the last three months and to you, the marketer or business owner, this indicates the power of location based mobile applications and the impact they will have on your marketing efforts. Foursquare is not the only one out there, but it is obvious that location based social networks are here to stay and will have a big impact on your business.

Some quick tips for location based marketing for businesses

As a marketer, you need to explore location based applications such as Foursquare and how your prospective customers are using them. You have to connect with your online customers to become aware of what they are looking for and the search results they see, both real time and social search.

Thanks to social media, consumers have the constant urge to stay in touch with their peers and location based services leverage this behavior to generate traffic and business. Mobile devices enable marketers reach their local customers and offer them rewards to motivate them to buy from them.

Location based media company, JiWire’s Latest Mobile Audience Insights Report shows the following statistics:

• 78% use location-based apps on their phone; 29% use them multiple times a day
• 34% clicked on an ad in response to location specific message
• 57% are more likely to engage with an ad that is relevant to their location, an increase from 46% in Q1
• 17% have made a purchase in response to a location-based advertisement
• 84% of people who use app-enabled phones have participated in a shopping activity

It is obvious that businesses must offer incentives and rewards to attract and convert prospective customers and use a system of loyalty points to reward existing (read loyal) customers.

One of the biggest advantages of location based marketing is its ability to tap into the younger demographic that is tuned to using mobile devices, apps and services. Big brands are leveraging services such as FourSquare, Facebook Places and so forth to announce new products. Social media teaches the lesson that it is important to engage and acknowledge consumers and as a first step, businesses can adopt the policy of thanking users for checking in, followed by rewards in the form of coupons and special offers.

Does your business use location based services? Do share your insights in the comments section.

The days when you heard the thud of the newspaper on your porch and the rustle of turning the page with your coffee balanced in one hand might soon become a happy memory. With technology becoming an integral part of our daily lives, and the launch of devices such as smartphones and the iPad, newspaper and magazine subscriptions are opting to go digital. What does this mean for the readers? Will it benefit them?

It is certain that 2011 is going to be a very interesting year for digital subscriptions with phone browsing getting better and better.

Reality check

The premise behind digital subscriptions is that the digital format is eco-friendly compared to the print medium. Let us not forget that millions of printed magazines end up in landfill sites and switching to the digital medium has advantages that one cannot argue with. To name just a few:

• Digital subscriptions carry exactly the same content as the print medium. Rather, it offers more interaction as it is possible to click on links to get more information.
• Digital subscriptions eliminate the expense of resources such as paper, ink, chemicals and printing. No trees are cut and a lot of energy is saved as there is no printing process. Besides, there is no waste material generated. In the print medium, production usually exceeds sales.
• The distribution of print media alone is a massive logistics exercise. Digital subscriptions require no transportation either in terms of materials or finished product.
• Digital subscriptions are easier to create. All it takes is one set of PDF format files that are uploaded online and this can be accessed by an unlimited number of subscribers.

Yet while the newspaper industry might set their hopes on devices like the iPad, converting the print content into a digital format alone won’t work. There has to be a totally new approach in content delivery.

The current buzz is over the New York Times digital subscription, whose pricing received mixed reactions. NYT’s goal is to increase revenue by charging for content. Users will be able to access 20 articles per month for free. More than that will be paid subscription. Three types of subscription packages including deals for smartphones and tablets such as iPads have been announced. The service will stay free for the home delivery subscribers. Users will also be able to read NYT’s articles via search engines. Take a look at some FAQ on NYT’s digital subscriptions here.

As the debate goes on about what constitutes a link in the NYT digital edition, iPad and iPhone users can subscribe to the Times via in-app purchasing, besides the Times website. Interestingly, this means that Times will also be handing over a 30% commission to Apple for any digital subscriptions that are bought through the apps. Apple announced that it wants 30% cut of all subscriptions bought via iOS devices and this includes providers of music, video, newspapers and magazines. While the major publishers may have hassles with this, this can be good news for small publishers who don’t have to pay content royalties.

That said, there certainly IS a case for digital subscriptions. Take Zinio, for example. Founded in 2001, this highly successful digital newsstand and bookstore has revolutionized magazine reading. Zinio offers hundreds of the best digital titles via its e-stores, besides the ability to read, share and save digital content in 23 local newsstands at any location globally. Top sellers such as Cosmopolitan, Fairlady can be accessed here. Another major subscription shop My Subs offers a variety of publications in the digital format. Magazines.co.za offers a huge selection of South African and Imported magazines.

The point is not whether the iPad or smartphone with the large display will win over print media. Obviously these devices are going to be used by a lot of people in the years to come. Also, newspapers and magazines will not be the only ones going digital; they will have to compete with television, other online companies, music giants and so forth for the subscribers’ cash. What is your take on digital subscriptions? Share your thoughts in the comments section.