“Check in” to the New Social Media Trend

What are geolocation applications and why do they matter to your business?

Geolocation applications like FourSquare, Gowalla and the recently released Facebook places are the latest social media trend and the next big thing for businesses and advertisers to use to connect with prospects and customers.

So what exactly are geolocation applications? A whole category of apps that are based around phones that are smart enough to know your location. If you have a smartphone, you can use these geolocation applications to check in to places, let your friends know where you are, and see where you friends are. You might see the use in this if you’ve ever gone somewhere, only to discover later that your colleagues or friends were there too. Beyond simply knowing where your friends are, on Foursquare and Gowalla you can also see tips left by people who have visited that place before you, for example in a restaurant you might find a tip about what to order.

So how can you take advantage of the growing popularity of these geolocation apps to grow your business? Here are some tips for using Foursquare to attract new customers and increase the loyalty of your current customers:

• Make sure your venue is listed on the applications. If not, add it. By having your business listed, when people are close to your building using an app such as Foursquare, you will be listed as a nearby business. Or, for example, I have my company tagged under “website development” so if someone in my area using Foursquare searches for website development, my company will come up.
• Reward your customers by offering discounts and prizes when they check in at your venue. By doing this, they are helping you by creating more awareness about your business and you are helping them by giving them something of value. This will not only bring in new customers through awareness, but will also create loyal customers who come back so they can earn rewards.
• Take advantage of the real-time venue stats. You will get a better idea of who your customers are, when they are coming in, and what they are doing. This will help you create more targeted marketing. Check out the business page on foursquare for more details https://foursquare.com/businesses/

Not only can you use geolocation applications to create direct business, but you can also introduce your brand to new consumers and increase brand loyalty with existing consumers. Your customers are already using these apps and they are free to use, so make sure you get on board today.

To sign up for Foursquare visit https://foursquare.com/ where you can also get a better idea of how this application works and how you can download the app to your phone.

To get started on Facebook places, you’ll need the most recent version of the Facebook application for iPhone. You also can access Places from touch.facebook.com if your mobile browser supports HTML 5 and geolocation. You can find out more about this new feature on Facebook.

Find out more about Gowalla.

How have you seen people using geolocation applications for their business? Let me know by leaving a comment below.