In theory, Foursquare and location-based services should be all the rage these days within social media.
Much like Twitter was enthusiastically embraced by the digitally-savvy before it burst into the mainstream, Foursquare and rivals such as Gowalla were expected to follow the same path.
But unlike what happened at the SXSW conference in 2007 when Twitter exploded on the scene, Foursquare stumbled out of this year’s conference with little buzz.
Sure, Foursquare has two million registered members and recently attracted $20-million in venture capital but there doesn’t appear to be much excitement about it or the location-based services market.
The tepid approach was illustrated earlier this week when Forrester issued a report that only 4% of online adults in the U.S. have used location-based mobile apps and that only 1% update these services more than once per week.
Forrester also discovered that 84% of respondents said they’re unfamiliar with location-based services, which is not the most encouraging news for anyone who believes location-based services have the potential to become more than a niche market.
The big problem with location-based services is their struggle to provide more value than simply giving people the ability to “check-in”. Once the novelty of broadcasting your location to the world starts to wear off, there’s no compelling reason to use Foursquare, et al.
This is not to suggest location-based services will evolve and find ways to engage with large amounts of users but there doesn’t seem to be any indication yet that they will anything more than niche services.
In an ideal world, Foursquare will provide consumers with access to lots of value-added information, including promotions from retailers looking for ways to reach consumers with the right offer at the right time at the right place.
While it’s probably still early days for location-based services, the jury is still out on whether they will become solid members of the social media landscape or whether the hype is unjustified.
Tags: foursquare, gowalla, location-based services, Social Media
Remember plazes.com a few years ago? I didn’t use it for long. Simply because I could tell people, where I am via Twitter. Why use an extra service for such a simple thing?
Today I use Foursquare – because every Geek does, just like it was with plazes.com a few years ago. But since I’m not keen on receiving all of those fancy badges, I don’t see much “real” use by now.
My wishes: The check-in process has to be easier and faster. Multi check-in apps have to become more comfortable to use. And venues have to think of how to use all the check-in information. Free beer for the mayor would be a good start
I have to take exception here. In fact, I’ll credit another blogger with an excellent opposing position that I totally agree with … check out Lisa Barone’s post “No, You Shouldn’t Wait To Start Using Social Media For Your Business” at http://bit.ly/aJuql9 – It is a great look at why Forrester is wrong about LBS.
As I commented there … The issue with lack of LBS action is the fact that so few have put a winning marketing program beyond the use of the service. When brands think of location based service as “a way to seed where you want your audience to go” and build programs around this mentality we will see the statistics change! It lies in the marketers hands for brands. Who is ready to take on the challenge and be a winner?
Best,
Social Steve
Steve,
Thanks for the comment. Lisa makes a good point about experimenting with different social media services rather than waiting to see if they are going to become part of the landscape. I guess my take that Foursquare and other location-based services have been around for a couple of years and shown little traction. For whatever reasons, not many companies have been experimenting, although Starbucks did a free coffee promotional recently. It may be that location-based services aren’t resonating with companies because there’s not much “meat” yet, or it may be that companies have so many other options to explore and do experiments that Foursquare isn’t top of mind.
cheers, Mark
I have been surprised that more brick and mortar retailers, especially those local ones who are fighting for survival against national chains and big-box types, have not taken advantage of location based services to run promotions to drive additional traffic.
There is a link on the Foursquare site that makes it easy to get started, but smaller merchants are probably just too busy to give it attention.
I view location based services as another channel that we as marketers can incorporate into communications plans for our clients. Maybe its up to us to make LBS work.
Bill,
You make a good point that Foursquare is something that smaller and more flexible retailers could jump on. It may just be a matter that they don’t know about it yet.
Mark
I agree that the main problem with LBS is that they don’t provide enough value. Google’s new location-based ads on the other hand may be closer to getting at more utility which I just wrote about here: http://mrmjapanvoices.com/post/880309578/location-based-ads-google-vs-foursquare-vs-apple