Recent marketing industry events have highlighted the coming wave of mobile marketing. Location-based marketing has had a particular hype. I wanted to learn more about it first hand, so I took to the road to test it out myself while on a short vacation this past weekend.

In advance, I researched some of the latest location-based marketing techniques and platforms.

• Twitter has integrated geotagging into tweets accessible by computer or on your mobile device. Marketers can target and communicate virtually, which makes it easier for marketers to find customers and quickly get in touch in real-time.
• Foursquare was the instigator of geotagging presented as the highly popular location based game/application, rewarding customers with ‘check-ins.’ In most recent news, they are close to 1.8 billion users and just raised $20m in a Series B investment.
• Yelp newly introduced a similar concept to Foursquare by adding badge features and ‘Dukedoms’ to their mobile application. Ideally, Yelp would like to provide readers with quality reviews since they will have the ability to track the number of times the reviewer is actually visiting the venues.
• Gowalla, also similar to Foursquare, has just rolled out five new local language settings for global users to actively participate.

An article last week from Noah Elikin on Media Post Marketing Implications of a Truly Mobile Internet, discussed the idea that frequent travelers were a prime target for location based marketing. I put the theories to test on my adventures to the Northwest and Canada. From Thursday to Monday, I utilized my social networks by checking into Foursquare and sending updates to Twitter. Being an avid user of social media and having a fairly sizable network of 1150 followers, I was curious to see if brands would indeed market to me as I was on the go.

On Foursquare, I made sure to check-in everywhere I stopped, including: airports, train/bus stations, hotels, restaurants, coffee shops, well-known tourist attractions, and tours. I logged over 20 check-ins and 15 tweets throughout the trip. Surprisingly, the results were underwhelming. Out of all venues I visited and tweeted about, I only received one automated response from the tour company, @SavorSeattle, thanking me for the follow and participating on the tour.

The only ’specials nearby’ notification I received was from @Starbucks on Foursquare. For the sake of my research (and being a frequent coffee drinker) I couldn’t travel all the way to Seattle without visiting the original Starbucks store. The company has quickly adopted location-based marketing on Foursquare. When users check-in to the store, a notification pops up offering incentives to “Mayors” (most frequent customers) discounts and free drinks. It is a program that drives increased customer visits and alerts to Starbucks near their immediate location.

Findings: Despite the location-based marketing hype, the practice has not become an integral part of the marketing mix. It will be interesting to watch brands roll out the efforts in the months and years. However, for the moment, there is not very much activity visible at the traveling consumer level.

Although I was not geotargeted by marketing brands, I did learn more about an interesting tool for travelers worth noting: @Boarding

The recently new idea was founded by Damien Guinet in France and seems to be leading in the developing an ideal platform for travel-based marketing. The concept is to find ’stranded travelers’ through online social media tools. Simply tweet #boarding followed by the airport code and moments later you will receive a message with a link to a map plus list of Twitter handles also in the airport. What I found most interesting about the concept is the ultimate end goal of the idea: Proposing specific airport service/product coupons plus tips to help occupy the time while waiting to board.

Traveling back to Chicago from Seattle, I put my research to the test myself. After reviewing the list of Twitter profiles in who were also at SeaTac International Airport, I came across @AirlineReporter, who I have recently started following. So I did what any other tweep would do - sent a direct message to see what terminal he was in! We ended up meeting at his gate and chatting about how we had just put social networking into practice. He had valuable insight for location based marketing. Airlines are finding creative ways to integrate social media into brand strategy. For instance, there is future talk of allowing customers to check into their flights via Foursquare, providing a quick, efficient way of flying. Incentives are also being created, such as becoming the Mayor of the airline terminal and given the chance to bump up to business class or win 5,000 frequent flyer miles. The tools seem to be a great starting point for airlines and companies to build up to specifically target the traveling customers.

My end result showed that many companies are buzzing around location-based marketing and hoping to roll out their innovative and creative concepts, although the ideas have not yet been fully implemented. After putting myself out there, one thing is for sure - thanks to social media and mobile apps, you can connect virtually with anyone, anywhere. How will companies catch up with real-time connection on the go? What examples have you come across in your daily activities recently that integrate location-based marketing?

Paladin would like to find out where location-based marketing is headed in your companies. Take our quick, one-questioned polls and results will be given next week on our social networks.

1. http://polls.linkedin.com/p/93828/jqvtu

2. http://polls.linkedin.com/p/93830/cmzdo

You know that the time will come when the “employer market” will change back to a “candidate market”.  My friends, that day is fast approaching!  For those of us who went through this cycle in the 90s (yes, I was there), it was a great time for qualified talent to make a change but not so good for companies who had invested thousands of dollars and years into cultivating the talent.  Firms were often in bidding wars over candidates and many times there would be 2-3 offers up for consideration.  Sign on bonuses, relocation packages and stock options were commonplace, not the rare exception.

There are some basic steps you can take as an employer to solidify your relationship with your employee so you don’t find yourself looking for help when you didn’t see it coming.

1. Make sure your employee knows where they stand in your business.  Tell them how you feel about them.  Show them they matter in their pay, benefits and involvement in the decisions of the business.
2. Be flexible with things like time off, work hours and virtual work when possible. Today’s workplace has changed dramatically and employees are juggling much more in their schedules and the employers who offer the most flexibility will grab more of the top talent.
3. Don’t try to play the bidding game with an employee who is already looking on the outside.  If they matter to you, counter quickly and decisively if necessary but be willing to let them go their own way.  If their decision to leave is all about more money, the desire to get more will continue to be there.
4. Promote your best people and give them a clear career path that is set in your firm.  People who have been patiently waiting through the Recession for those long ago promises will not be so patient moving forward. 

As a candidate looking to make a change there are also key factors for you to keep in consideration.

1. Have your resume always up-to-date and references available.  Some jobs will appear out of the blue and you don’t want to keep a potential employer waiting.
2. Keep your social networks open and always looking for new potential matches.  Remember, other people will have the same idea as you.
3. Don’t just “kick the tires” to see what is out there.  While as a candidate you might have the upper hand, you can burn bridges and get a bad reputation with recruiters and clients that will spread like wildfire.

The bottom line is that things are improving and the market will be much more competitive for the top talent and keeping the people you already have in place.

Now is a good time to do some “soul searching” and make sure you haven’t capitalized too munch on the current market and irreparably strained the staff relationships that your business needs to continue to be successful.

For those of you new to Paladin, or who have never hired a Paladin staffer or worked with a freelancer or consultant, I’m here to provide some tips for you on how to work with your new part-time, remote staff.

1)    Establish a method or approach for communication between you and the staffer.  Working remotely is very doable today but both client and staff must work at communication because we cant just ‘pop in’ to ask you a question, or vice versa.

2)    I recommend using some of the newer social media tools to stay in touch, from AOL instant messenger, to Facebook Chat or Gmail Chat, as good methods to provide a virtual ‘open door’ policy.

3)    Clearly define roles/duties/objectives.  Again, because we aren’t working together, it’s important to be clear about what it is you expect from your staffer.

4)    We don’t know your culture so by all means be a tour guide.  Just as you would take an out of town friend or relative around town to see the sites, tell us about the important people and their personalities and talk to us about your values and what’s important to you.  Because we are new and working remotely with you, its not likely we are going to get to know your culture or your boss’ idiosyncrasies.  So, by all means, be the guide to the cultural tour of your work place.  Tell us about the unique customs you have, birthday practices, staff meeting rituals and other quirks that make your workplace fun/taxing/burdensome/exasperating.

5)    We know you’re paying us by the hour but don’t shy away from including us in important meetings or sharing office developments.  I once had a client who never copied me on emails to staff or shared board reports because she had a tight budget and thought I would bill her to read emails and memos.

6)    Which brings me to the last tip:  have an early and open conversation about your budget.  In this economic climate, most reasonable freelancers are willing to work within your budget but we have to know what it is.  If you give us a ballpark budget figure, we’ll make sure we help you stick to it and make you look good!

Looking forward to your comments and tips, too!

Working from home has been a hot topic for both candidates and hiring managers here at Paladin. This week my team staffed several marketing roles that require our Paladin Associates to work remotely. For some job seekers it is seen as the unattainable Shangri-La. For others who have been there, working from home has lost some of its luster. And employers are often conflicted over the relative benefits and draw backs as well.

For those that are investigating or are dedicated to a virtual work life, here is a resource for you: Digital Nomads

I was introduced to the site by Bob Pearson, Dell’s VP Communities and Conversations. Bob was the keynote speaker at The Conference Board’s Corporate Reputation and Communications conference held in Chicago this October. After the event, he was kind enough to give me an overview of this online community. Here is one post of particular interest to individuals considering the switch to working from home: So, You Want to Become a Nomad, eh?

And for those that have worked alone too long – an alternative: Coworking the newest trend in the virtual workplace . . . . working alone, together. You can learn more and find coworking resources here: Coworking Wiki

And for hiring managers, here are a few resources on managing virtual workers:

Business Week – Virtual Workplace Dos and Don’ts

Web Worker Daily – 10 Tips for Managing Virtual Workers

At Work Newswire – Managing Virtual Teams

And for those that still like working together face-to-face with a team. . . . I will see you on the train at 7:00 a.m. tomorrow morning.