A recent study by the Pew Internet and American Life Project reveals that just 4% of online adults use location-based "check-in" services. But just ahead of the holiday shopping season, Facebook has launched it's new Deals service which offers deals to consumers when they "check-in" at participating businesses using Facebook Places. Facebook offers a tutorial for business on how to create a "deal," watch the video here.
For Facebook users, here's an introduction to finding deals on Facebook:
According to a study conducted by the Pew Research Center's Internet & American Life Project, 81% of cell phone owners use their phones to report where they are or to check someone else’s location. The same number of survey respondents indicated that they use their cell phones to coordinate where they are to meet someone.
If you own a store, restaurant, professional offices or any business where customers can visit your establishment, tapping into this trend may be a profitable way to market your business. Using a geo-location or "check-in" services and mobile applications such as Foursquare, Gowalla, Brightkite, Loopt, Shopkick, Facebook Places and even Twitter may help new customers discover your business. In addition, your loyal customers can leave invaluable positive feedback (yes, you do open yourself up for some negative feedback as well!) and you can further engage with them by offering discounts and other benefits. Many of these services are "geo-social," combining social networking with their "check-in" service like the fast-growing Foursquare which give "mayorships" to the person checking in most often to their business and even offering freebies - with competition for "mayorships" and rewards to be had, no wonder Foursquare is so popular.
Check out these articles to learn more about how you can use geo-location tools to market your business:
