Geotagging for Business – Why It Matters

About a week ago I created a proposal for a local restaurant aimed at tackling a public relations crisis it had stirred up. One of the tools I felt the restaurant could use to not only improve their public reputation, but also drive sales through the roof was a social geotagging service.

What is geotagging?

Geotagging, as defined by Wikipedia is:

…the process of adding geographical identification metadata to various media such as photographs, video, websites, or RSS feeds and is a form of geospatial metadata. These data usually consist of latitude and longitude coordinates, though they can also include altitude, bearing, accuracy data, and place names.

Social geotagging networks like Foursquare, Gowalla, BrightKite, Google Latitude and Plancast are essentially, social media ecosystems that thrive on geotagging.

All but Plancast (enables the planning of future events) offer the same kind of experience, which is to say people can “check in” to a latitude and longitude that points to anywhere in the world (be it a park, restaurant, tube station or demilitarized zone – OK maybe not a demilitarized zone) and share information about that place with their network of friends. The service is used to create a running commentary of their worldly travels, but with the added layer of community.

I’m going to talk about Foursquare from now on as it seems to be winning the social geotagging network war.

A typical day on the profile of a Foursquare veteran might look like this:

• Just got to the office. Karl is being an arse which is normal @ Pentagon Design (73 Clayton Avenue, Leeds)
• Lunch time = Sushiiiiiiiiiiii @ Yo Sushi! (The Promenade, Leeds)
• Just got back home – anyone going to the pub later? @ Carliol Square (Sandy Lane, Leeds)
• Onn thye way home noww . i thynkn i had  a  bit too mucvh @ Random Gas Station (Random road, Leeds)

Ok even though the last part was a joke, it really happens (at least in the UK)!

But what does this have to do with BUSINESS?

via @Percival's Posterous

We all know that humans can’t resist a good rewards system, even if the rewards are intangible… and unsurprisingly, Foursquare implements one. A brilliant one, in fact.

Users get points and badges for checking in to locations. If they check into a café more than anyone else, they will be awarded the “Mayor” status which is like being the King or Queen of that Cafe in Foursquare. Pretty cool right? I mean, who doesn’t want to be a Mayor but have none of the Mayor-ish work and the greying hair that comes with it?

Even if you don’t get the Mayor status, you’ll build up your check-in points and badges over time.

At the moment Foursquare doesn’t have a way to spend these points but very soon they will. They’ve hinted on their website that they may be used to help fund charitable causes, although I’d think a more realistic approach would be to use the points to do that AND gain access to premium and discounted affiliate offerings.

The competitive spirit alone will be pitting people head to head at venues where they will spend money.

Offering the Mayor a freebie – which is what a handful of businesses have been doing since Foursquare gained traction in and around April 2009 – will massively incentivise repeat custom and new interest.

Users are able to share tips with their friends about locations

Furthermore, social networks engage people simply because they’re fun (most of the time). Sharing is FUN. If you have a choice between doing business with someone that is encouraging you to have fun as opposed to someone that is not, to whom will you be more likely to give your hard-earned cash? Reputation goes a long way in extracting money from your target market, and seemingly trivial marketing strategies like using Foursquare can have massive repercussions three, four or five rungs down the relationship ladder.

It’s kind of a no-brainer when you think if Foursquare and services alike would benefit your business and gets you wondering why it isn’t being adopted more than it already has been. Evidently, businesses now understand the importance of being present on Facebook and Twitter to a lesser extent, so why not Foursquare?

Massive Lead Generation

Foursquare, Gowalla and the other social geotagging networks tap into already-existing friend pools by linking to Facebook and Twitter.

When someone checks in, earns a new badge or becomes the Mayor they can choose to tweet/update this to their friends and followers on the respective networks.

The lead generation potential for businesses is huge!

The Pros of using this service

I recently approached a local coffee shop to tell them about how they could boost their business by encouraging their customers to use Foursquare. Time will tell if they take my advice, but the following reasons will hopefully win them over:

• It’s free marketing - all you need is a large, clear print out that tells customers of the offers and rules – everything else is handled by the customer and their network of friends
• It’s viral - friends will check each others recent check-in’s to find out where they like to eat/drink/dance etc. and they’ll end up trying them out too which will have a knock-on effect
• It’s targeted - people visiting or real-life local friends of customers will be able to check out the details and location of businesses being visited and decide whether or not it’s for them
• It’s warm - the probability that people will try a restaurant or bar based on social proof far exceeds the probability of them doing so from an advertisement in traditional media

The Cons of using this service

Although there seems to be every reason for a business to get involved with services like these, there are also reasons for businesses to avoid them. Avoid these kinds of services if:

• you sell a fad
• you have an exorbitantly overpriced product or service
• you have less-than-excellent customer service

If you qualify for any of the above and you start to engage people on via any form of social media, you’re going to be in for a shock. People can also spread bad news as fast as they spread good.

Is it a trend that will last?

Update: the massive online directory, Yelp just today added the “check-in” functionality to their platform. This puts Yelp ahead of both Foursquare and Gowalla by sheer numbers alone – their userbase is around the 1.25million mark compared to 200k for Foursquare and similarly for Gowalla.

The question we need to ask is “Why are social geotagging networks so popular?” and I think the answer is this:

By nature, people are social. Being social means sharing, and in their pursuit to share more and share faster they generate enough demand to justify networks like Twitter, Facebook and now Foursquare.

Foursquare fills the void where Twitter and Facebook remain absent. It enables people to rate and leave tips for locations and adds an element of competition into the mix to encourage activity.

Although the tools and platforms over which they are delivered will change and be replaced with time, the needs of the people will always be more or less the same.

Scobleizer recently mentioned that Foursquare could potentially conquer the Chinese marketplace (due to the overwhelming success it has achieved at home) – more proof of the massive demand driving the expansion of these social geotagging networks.

Whether Foursquare lives or dies, the demand for the ability to share this level of intimacy with our friends, family and colleagues will stay.

Conclusion

If you’re a retail business, tourist attraction or a place that would benefit from more visitors – get involved with any of the social geotagging services mentioned in this post sooner rather than later. Foursquare looks like the best bet at the moment as it seems to be the most popular with Gowalla in a close second. It wouldn’t hurt to jump into more than one in the hope of engaging with more people.

Related posts:

1. Why You’re Killing Your Business By Not Having a Business Blog (10 Proofs You Must See)
2. Using Social Media to Market Your Business
3. How to Be Appealing on Twitter
4. Business Unusual #followfriday Recommendations Week 1
5. Website Optimization Tips: Four Fast Fixes To Get Your Business Found