Check in for deals.
If you use your smartphone for Facebook or Foursquare, then you know it is possible to check in and post your current location to your profile. Well, now checking in offers more benefits than simply sharing your whereabouts with your social network. Some marketers have begun offering discounts and incentives – if you’re willing to go on the record with your exact coordinates.
However, according to a recent eMarketer article, a February 2011 survey reveals that 44 percent of smart phone users do not use location-based apps, or even understand how they work. Of the remaining 56 percent who understand these geo-capabilities, only 39 percent actually use them. They found the social aspect of these location-based apps to be more beneficial than discounts and rewards.
This could have something to do with the fact that the most frequently used location-based apps are Facebook Places, Google Latitude, and Foursquare – all very social in nature. So an opportunity exists for sites like Groupon and LivingSocial to leverage their deals with social networking. Facebook is also looking to capitalize on this with its Deals application, but it is only available in a few markets right now.
In any event, privacy is a major concern when it comes to location-based apps, according to a study done by Nielsen. Checking in could open the door to a whole new kind of social media blunder. It probably isn’t wise to announce to the Facebook world that you’re at the local bar taking advantage of 2 for 1 margaritas happy hour after happy hour. Especially if you’ve told a special someone that you’re working late. I can definitely smell relationship-ruining potential among the social media inept.
Tagged with applications, Facebook, Foursquare, Google, Groupon, location-based, social media