Dealing with Geosocial
Keeping up with social marketing seems as though it’s as much about keeping up with the new changes as it is the names themselves. With words such as Foursquare, Gowalla, Loopt, Groupon, Yelp and of course Facebook and Twitter, it really comes down to engaging the user and now, providing deals.
If you offer a product or service (and who doesn’t right?), then knowing how to use these tools for your business could make the difference in getting and more importantly retaining customers. In recent weeks, there’s been a lot of action on Foursquare with businesses setting up accounts left and right. Right now Foursquare doesn’t offer an easy way to secure a business page so it really is a free for all. However, once you’ve claimed your business you can really start having fun by adding deals and rewarding those who check in.
Gowalla’s newest update allows check-ins on Foursquare, it’s much larger rival in the GPS-enabled smartphone location service arena. According to a Pew Research Center Study released in December, these platforms draw a small audience with 4% of online adults using “geosocial” sites. Remember when you said, “Face-what?” and now it has more than 500 million users. Right now Foursquare is at 5 million members and Gowalla is at 600,000. That’s a lot of people sharing their experience with their friends and associates and, more importantly, a business opportunity.
And not to be left out, in recent weeks Yelp added check-in offers for its members joining Facebook places with its new deals.
How important is all of this? Well let’s just say based on how fast Starbucks and Southwest Airlines jumped at the opportunity, I’d say you might want to take a second look. The day after the Facebook Deals announcement, Starbucks starting advertising that it would donate $1 per Facebook Places check-in up to $75,000 to the Conservation International. And just before Thanksgiving, Southwest Airlines launched its charitable check-ins using Facebook Places. Simply check-in at the airport and Southwest Airlines will donate $1 to the Make-A-Wish Foundation up to $300,000.
The bad news? You might be saying, “Hey, I think I just got a handle on Facebook and Twitter and now this?” And if you’re not on one of these platforms you can guarantee your competitors are either already on it or looking into it.
The good news? It doesn’t take long to be up and running. You’ll want to work closely you’re your social marketing manager or team to evaluate and determine what’s going to work best for your business…and if it does.
We know that going through this jungle is easier with a little help which is why RKPR offers consultation and training on location-based services as well as all things social. E-mail us to learn more.
