Location‐BasedSocialMediaWhatyouneedtoknow.

JodiJersett&MeaganCampbell

Whatwillbediscussed:•  Explainlocation‐basedsocialmedia•  Presentdataaboutmobilephoneusage

•  Explainwhypeoplecheck‐in•  Howthiscanbenefityourbusiness•  Explainingreaterdetailafewpopularlocation‐basedsocialsites

•  Summary

Whatisit?•  WebsitesandapplicationsthatuseGPSandotherlocationmethodstodetectyourcurrentlocation

•  Usercanthen“check‐in”tovariouslocationsviatheirmobiledevice

•  Manyserviceshaveagamingcomponent•  Notallrequireacheck‐in–  “Geo‐fencing”letsretailerssendtextmessagediscountsorcouponstoshopperswhenthey’reintheproximityofastore

75%ofthe16.7milliontotalmobileuserswhocheck‐in,dosowithasmartphone.

MobilehashitthemainstreamintheU.S.Attheendof2009,thenumberofmobilesubscribershadgrownto280million,reaching87%ofU.S.households.

7.1%oftheentireU.S.mobilephonepopulationusescheck‐inservicesand17.6%ofsmartphoneuserscheckedinduringthemonthofMarch.

12.6millionsmartphoneownersusedcheck‐inserviceslikeFoursquare,Gowalla,orFacebookPlaces.

Check‐inuserstendtobeyoungwith18‐24yearolds(26%)and25‐34yearolds(32.5%)makingupmorethanhalfofallusers.Theytendtobestudents(23.3%)andhavefull‐timejobs(46.4%).

TheNewYorkTimes,May12,2011ComScoreSaysCheck‐InUsersareYoung,Employed&UseAndroid

Whycheck‐in?•  Sharewhatyouaredoinginreal‐time•  Readreviews•  Rateservice,leavesuggestions•  Viewphotos•  Seewhoelseisinthesamelocation

•  Receivespecialdeals•  Explorenewplacesaroundyou

Howcanthisbenefityourbusiness?

•  “Free”wordofmouth•  Reviewsandratings– Positiveandnegativefeedbackwillbeposted

•  Offercheck‐indealsandspecials– Attractnewcustomers– Rewardloyal,repeatcustomers

•  Obtainsomecustomerdemographicinformation

•  Websitelaunched:February2004•  Users:Morethan500million•  Averageuser:

–  has130friends–  isconnectedto80communitypages,groupsandevents–  creates90piecesofcontenteachmonth

•  Mobileusers:Morethan250million–  TwiceasactiveonFacebookthannon‐mobileuser

•  FacebookPlaceslaunched:August2010

•  MergeyourPlaceandBusinesspage

Datasource:http://www.facebook.com/press/info.php?statistics

•  Launched:March2009•  Users:Over8millionworldwide– Adding35,000newuserseachday

•  Check‐insperday:Over1.5million– Halfabillioncheck‐insin2010

•  Businesses:Over250,000usingmerchantplatform

Datasource:https://foursquare.com/about

Specialstoattractnewcustomers.

Specialsthatencourageloyalty.

•  Launched:July2004•  Visitors:Morethan50millionmonthly•  Localreviews:Morethan17million•  Yelpmobile:

–  3.2millionuniquevisitors–  Over1/3ofallsearchescomefrommobile

–  EveryothersecondausergeneratesdirectionsorcallsalocalbusinessfromtheYelpapp

Datasource:http://www.yelp.com/faq#what_is_yelp

•  Launched:Summer2009•  Users:1.4million•  Retailpartners:

–  Target–  BestBuy–  Macy’s–  Crate&Barrel

•  Usercheck‐ins:Millions–  5millionpartnerproductshavebeenscanned

•  Presenceinnearly1,500retaillocationsand160malls,across39states

•  SimilartoCheckpointsappDatasource:http://www.adweek.com/news/technology/shopkick‐partners‐crate‐barrel‐131411

BusinessStrategy

MarketingStrategy

Creativity

Resources

Ourrecommendations:•  Haveasocialmediaplan•  Location‐basedsocialmediaisonecomponentofyouoverallplan– Mustbeagoodfit

•  Onlydowhatyoucanmanage•  Testoutspecials•  Donotforgotraditionaladvertising– Developamarketingstrategythatincorporatesavarietyofmediums

Whatyoulearnedtoday:•  Aboutlocation‐basedsocialmedia•  Dataaboutmobilephoneusage

•  Whypeoplecheck‐in

•  Howlocation‐basedsocialmediacanbenefityourbusiness

•  Specificlocation‐basedapps•  Ourrecommendations