These are two (somewhat recent) forms of 'Location Based Social Networking', with the purpose of announcing to the world where you are currently located, what you're doing and who you're with. Many people argue, what's the point? At first glance, it can be seen that these tools provide few benefits, which can include:
- being alerted when a friend is near, then being able to get into contact
- discovering a new bar or restaurant which a friend has frequented
- providing another outlet of 'no one really cares' information, such as the check in at 'My Bed', or
- bragging to friends that you've just landed in a tropical holiday destination
However, it is clear we are only just beginning to see the true potential of these types of services, especially for those concerned with digital marketing.
On a recent trip to the US, many places I visited publicly encouraged visitors to 'check-in' to Facebook or Foursquare, usually through big posters plastered outside the venue or building. One particular place was The Lion King musical. Upon 'checking in', you are greeted with a professional page with information and photos of the musical, its location, and its history. This allowed the individual to connect with the brand, if they enjoyed the musical and wished to learn more they could, but there was no considerable pressure to do so. Furthermore, the benefit for the organisation itself was also great, my friends knew where I was and I'd ensured my continued connection with the show I had just seen, equating to (almost) free promotion of the musical itself.
The use of location based services as a promotional tool is only just beginning to be explored by marketers. As stated on Mashable (http://mashable.com/2011/08/01/mastercard-facebook-places/), MasterCard recently ran a campaign where seats from Yankees Stadium were scattered around New York City. People were encouraged to find the seats, scan a QR code on the particular seat which 'checked them in' on Facebook Places, which then entered them into the competition to win VIP seats to a 2011 Yankees game. Another example also highlighted on Mashable (http://mashable.com/2011/01/10/facebook-places-campaigns/) refers to a Westfield shopping centre in California offering considerable discounts to patrons who 'checked-in' to particular stores.
This type of utilisation of location based social networking provides a real exchange of value between both parties, the individual receives an entry into a competition, or a discount for a particular product, and the organisation is able to promote itself through the users page. However it is important to note that the three examples are quite different, the MasterCard and the Westfield campaigns asked individuals to post advertising material to their Facebook 'walls' in order to receive the stated benefit, whereas The Lion King was much a more subtle form, being seen as a regular 'check-in' which could be done at the individuals leisure, without being an overt form of promotion. Are Facebook or Foursquare users willing to 'whore' their pages out to get their competition entry, or their discount? Or, should marketers focus on creating 'official' check-in pages for their organisation, encouraging individuals to make use of the service at their leisure?
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Personally, I feel that marketing utilising such tools requires a balancing act, between the social and personal level, and the promotional aspect of the product itself. The Lion King model did this quite well, allowing people to check-in at their free will, enabling a connection with the brand to enhance and continue their experience with the musical. Marketers need to be flexible and remember that Facebook and Foursquare are both generally seen as a tool for sharing, and people are generally willing to share brands which they have a positive connection with. I know that, if I enter a competition on Facebook, I usually quickly delete the spam that has been posted on my wall, embarrassingly alerting all my friends that I've 'just received a free Coke Zero from 7-Eleven'. For me, this would continue even if I'd entered such a competition through Facebook Places, or any other means.
As stated at FastCompany (http://www.fastcompany.com/1746838/facebook-places-foursquare-social-medias-tiny-2-impact-on-businesses), marketing campaigns revolving around Facebook Places and Foursquare have provided little benefit to organisations to date. It is clearly early days, as the model for effectively using these tools to provide a benefit for the marketer hasn't been perfected yet.
The real question is what type of incentive is enough to encourage individuals to utilise location based social networking for marketing purposes?
Can 'Location Based Social Networking' prove to be a useful tool for marketers? Or, is it simply a gimmick?
2 comments:
A great first post, Dave.
I often wonder about the limitations of LBSNs... how many of us are worried about the privacy issues, which are amplified even further when we are telling the world exactly where we are at any point in time.
There are also technical limitations to LBSNs, such as the huge drain on your phone's battery if you leave GPS running all day - I'm not convinced that LBSNs will become as widely used as traditional SNs.
I agree, I think they're definitely here to stay in the form of an add on to traditional social networks, such as Facebook Places to Facebook. The large number of privacy issues probably contributes to this! Thanks Wags!
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