Why Your Small Business Should Avoid Location-Based Social Media Marketing

Posted by Adam_Gottlieb under Social Media
From http://frugalentrepreneur.com 124 days ago
Made Hot by: sundaydriver on January 17, 2013 10:33 am

With iconic location-based services like Foursquare scrambling to stay relevant, and social media giants, such as Facebook jumping in the location game, there’s been a renewed push for small businesses to use these platforms in their marketing initiatives. But most of the buzz is baseless hype.

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Comments

Written by lyceum
118 days ago

Adam: Thanks for you sharing your insights on this issue. Have you read The Age of the Platform by Phil Simon? I agree that we are heading to an integrated web, connecting the dots. Personally, I like the LBS as a personal journal and for giving feedback on customer services. I look forward to talk with you more about this topic in the near future! :)

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Written by lyceum
122 days ago

Adam: I am an avid user and supporter of location based services like Foursquare. It is still early, but the trend of using it is on the rise. I was the moderator at a Social Media Club meeting on LBS some time ago and we showed the hosting place (a big restaurant at hotel), the opportunities with checking-in and getting feedback from the customers via mobile devices. I want to discuss this topic with you in more detail later on.

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Written by Adam_Gottlieb
122 days ago

Martin, I hear... and I agree that there are currently (and will be in the future) many benefits to location based services for both customers and businesses. However, there are several inherent problems here:

For platforms such as Foursquare, for every business where this kind of service works, I guarantee you I can find at least ten to twenty businesses where it doesn't. It appeals to a very specific crowd, and thus, a very specific business. The payback just isn't there for most businesses. They'd have more to gain by focusing their resources in other areas.

On a different note...Even services such as Yelp are going to start running into problems. Why? Because there are just way too many reviews, too much information, etc, etc. The model has to change... and it will. If we put the user experience of Amazon, Google, Facebook (and maybe a bit of Apple) into a blender- that is where the Internet is heading. People are going to be increasingly sent select information (and experiences) based on their unique profiles (a combo of their demographics, online connections, online activities, off-line activities, location, and we can ad a few other variables in there just for kicks). This is already starting to happen...

I still hold that there's going to a backlash to all of this- whether actively by people trying to avoid these kinds of services (though it may get harder to do so) or passively, by tuning out all.

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