A week or two ago I ended up doing a story on the emerging opportunity presented to that businesses on Foursquare. In it, I basically said that geo-social networking sites like Foursquare present great opportunities for smaller businesses but that larger chains have yet to tap what is rapidly becoming the latest consumer obsession.
If to only magnify my point; I decided to do a little digging about marketing through geo-social networking applications. My search resulted not only the recent news that Foursquare has added some incredibly robust statistics for businesses but that some brands, mainly in the entertainment space, are exploring the space as well.
In particular, many entertainment brands like Bravo TV are partnering with Foursquare to create their own badges, the popular yet addictive payoff for playing the location-based game.
As entertainment brands are usually the first to jump on big social marketing trends, the question emerges about how addictive will this be for consumers?
As far as I can tell, here are the three big road-blocks to adoption:
- Privacy – Users are starting to see the downsides of letting everyone know where they are at all times. Need evidence? Check out PleaseRobMe.com.
- Novelty – As with any application, geo-social may just be a flash in the pan. Users may get really excited about this for a couple of months, making the first movers a lot of money then leave brands holding the bag on marketing opportunities no one takes advantage of.
- Over-Saturation – Finally, if anyone can get their own badge, what’s the “get” for consumers? Suddenly there might be 1,000 badges and no longer are any of them exclusive. There goes your reason for trying to check-in at more locations than your friends.
What other angles, for or against, can you guys can see to geo-social networking sites like Foursquare becoming the next big thing for consumer brands?
Being someone who just jumped onto Foursquare and earn a newbie badge, I am not sure how much input I can add. But, I do see a downfall to it. Small businesses in cities like Washington DC, Atlanta, San Francisco and the like can easily capitalize on the geo-location capabilities of Foursquare, but many cities are just not up to par when it comes to tech savvy individuals who are into mobile apps. I hail from Memphis, TN (a large enough city) and while I do know a number of people who use foursquare, it is just not prevalent enough for business here to gain traction with their consumers. I feel many other cities are in the same boat. Foursquare should just get Oprah to mention it like she did Twitter and every citizen will jump on board!
I agree that this geo-social marketing is full of opportunities for brands. To Erin’s point, I think it is up to businesses to push applications like Foursquare. If consumers think they are missing out on a discount or other opportunity, they will be more likely to log-in and check out a geo-tagging site. I think the allure of being “part of the club” is a big way this type of marketing is going to grow, specifically in cities that may not have as many tech-savvy individuals. However, as a Memphian myself, Memphis is gaining lots of ground in technology! My thoughts on using Foursquare to promote your business: http://ow.ly/1gLRk
RE: Erin& Katie – Both excellent points. The interesting this is that if these go “mainstream” we’re talking about a new level of visibility both on and offline. It’s one step closer to being a totally transparent society and one step closer to a larger backlash on social media, itself.
Is Geo-Social the New, Hot Marketing Playground for Brands? http://tinyurl.com/yce89wn