We frequently have customers who are looking for ways to stay ahead of the competition. When our customers hear the buzz word "social media" their minds often go straight to Facebook. Although as we've heard from a few sources, the "800 lb Gorilla" is definately Facebook. But in all honesty there is much more to "social media" than just Facebook. One of the new trends that Impulse Creative's noticing that "location based" also known as geo-location social media is emerging. Basically utilizing Social Media Platforms such as Facebook Places & Foursquare people can post where they are and offer suggestions (foursquare) where & what to eat. Although some people don't like this "invasion of privacy", this creates an additional opportunity for businesses to get in front of their potential customers. One of the main way's to leverage users is to offer "deals" or coupons for checking in to a location. This can translate into Additional "likes" for your business facebook page and increase awareness about your company, product, or brand. Visit Schnappers Hots on Sanibel and Check in via Facebook! For Example: We frequent Schnappers Hots on Sanibel, FL, They frequently offer Facebook "Deals" for returning customers. Similar to a Sandwich Shops "punch card" but they do this electronically AND share it with friends! In our example's case, they offer a FREE SODA with a purchase (the second time you come in). So on the first visit you see the screen on the left, and on the second visit you see the screen on the right of the picture above. From the merchant's point of view this is not much different than a punch card, but the big difference between a punch card and utilizing a location based social media such as foursquare or Facebook places is that your customers is basically screaming "I got this awesome deal from Schnappers Hots you should too!" It's represented in their "news feed" on Facebook like the following image. As this status post is showing our "check in" to Schnappers, we're not only getting the deal (good for us) but we're sharing our "find" with over 2000 people we're connected to online. We communicate this to our customers as "Referral Marketing on Steroids". Although this example is using Facebook, one cannot forget Foursquare. Foursquare offers a similar user & merchant experience but doesn't have as many active users. For more information on Location Based services available to help your business. Contact Impulse Creative Studios for a FREE consultation.
