Location Base Social Meia (LBSM)

oers what companies seekmost – an engaged user base that wants to broadcast about yourbrand and their experience on Facebook and Twitter.LBSM combines social media, mobile networking and GPS, to oerunique marketing opportunities or businesses. Some o theseapplications oer analytics to help you deepen your understandingo customer behavior while also creating new channels oengagement. LBSM is growing ast – what may be doing well today,may be replaced by something new tomorrow.

Social Check-In Applications

Social check-in sites allow user’s daily lie to be posted on theirsocial outlets. Users can check in, share inormation, read tips, andearn rewards (both virtual and real lie) at establishments they visit.

Foursquare

www.foursquare.comFin your friens. Unlock your city.

I any LBSM tool is putting the genre on the map (no pun intended), it’d beFoursquare. Users can check-in to locations and leave/read tips, see who is currentlyor previously checked in, and see where riends have visited. You can either check inrom that location, or log into the website later and retroactively check in.The incentive? Those who check-in most become a location’s “Mayor”, and businessescan create specials or them, or based simply on checking in (5th check-in earns anappetizer). Businesses can promote their participation with Foursquare window clingsand measure their success with Foursquare’s analytics tool.

Marketing Potential

+Create specials or Mayors+Create requency-based specials or check-ins(5th check-in earns you a ree appetizer)+Add Foursquare data to website through open API+Analytics o customers who check-in+Companies who have partnered with Foursquare can create branded channels-Unique badges-Create tips and to-dos-Push-notiy ollowers o updates in their area

Establishe:

March 2009

Aailability:

iPhone, Android, Blackberry, Palm, mobile-riendly website, open API

www.eactormedia.com

What’s All the Hype?

Gowalla

www.gowalla.comGo out with Gowalla.

In steep competition with Foursquare, Gowalla is unique in that you HAVE to be atthat exact location to check-in (no cheating here!). Features include trips created byusers and brands that others can participate in (a completed trip earns a button),stamps or every location visited, and items that can be dropped and picked up atdestinations. Gowalla users can leave comments and add photos o their experience,then relive their travels through a personal “passport”.

Marketing Potential

+Companies who have partnered with Gowalla can create:-Branded stamps (stamped in passport when checked in)-Branded items (in which you or others have let behind)-Branded trips or users to ollow-Push notications to inorm users in a general area+Use API to add data to website+Create check-in specials+Push-notiy ollowers o updates in their area

Establishe:

March 2009

Aailability:

iPhone, iPad, Android, Blackberry, Palm, open API

www.eactormedia.com

MyTown

www.mytown.com“MyTown turns the real worl into Monopoly.” – NYT

Unlike other LBSM’s we’ve seen, MyTown combines social check-in unctionality withcasual gaming. Users check into virtual versions o real locations, making them virtuallandlords who collect rent and upgrade buildings rom drab storeronts to glam highrises. It gained popularity quicker than any other LBSM – hitting the 1 million usermark rst.

Marketing Potential

+Companies who have partnered with MyTown may:-Brand items users use to earn more cash or points+Purchase ads based on category or location+Future integration o Google Places (enabling suggestions within the local area)

Establishe:

August 2008

Aailability:

iPhone

Keep Your Eye On

BrightKite | www.brightkite.com

BrightKite touts itsel as “the simple way to keep up with riends”, with Twitter-esque eatures, users can view where others intheir area have checked in, tips they’ve let, and messages about anything (making it the only LBSM with spam).

Whrrl | www.whrrl.com

Whrrl creates societies and builds virtual communities based on real-world living patterns. Check-ins at specic types olocations oer users membership to dierent societies, introducing them to local people who share similar interests.

www.eactormedia.com

Social REvIEW Check-In Applications

Well established on the internet, review sites are moving to mobile, making reviewsaccessible and created on the y (no need to check it out beore you leave the house).LBSM is quickly being adopted, adding eatures similar to social check-in sites.

Yelp

www.yelp.comTo connect people with great local businesses.

Fresh out o the check-in oven, Yelp’s eatures allow users to share where they arewith their social networks, with the added benet o linking that location’s Yelp reviewto their riends and ollowers. Yelp recently added incentives or checking in, includingbecoming royalty (duke, baron, and king o neighborhoods), plus badges or uniquetypes o check-ins (or example: Sushi Sensei or 6 sushi restaurant check-ins).Yelp seems to be playing catch-up with other check-in powerhouses but they havethe potential to surpass them all thanks to a anatic user base, a plethora o location-based inormation, established business relationships, and overall high regard as aresource or reviews.

Marketing Potential

+Create/promote in-store specials+Create specials or those who have unique badges or royalty status+Great listening tool+Deep analytics that connect LBSM data with traditional Yelp user data

Establishe:

July 2004

Aailability:

iPhone, iPod Touch, Blackberry, Android, Palm Pre, and all othersmartphones, open API

Keep Your Eye On

WHERE | www.where.com

WHERE rethinks the age o “search”, oering immediate access to all the inormation users would ever want about their area.The application provides “everything rom the weather, news, and restaurant reviews, to the closest coee shop, cheapest gas,trafc updates, movie show times and oers rom local merchants”. It will take time or the reviews to reach the quality andmagnitude that Yelp has, but WHERE has received substantial unding ($7 million) or uture updates.

Geoelic | www.geoelic.com

Geodelic automatically aggregates locations and inormation based on area, interests, and relevance. It touts the app becomesmore and more “you” with a smart engine that understands where you regularly visit and your interests. Like a travel agent inyour pocket, Geodelic oers on-site experience guides to unique areas (such as the Hollywood Walk o Fame).