Location Based Social Media offers what companies seek most – an engaged user base that wants to broadcast about your brand and their experience on Facebook, Yelp, and Twitter. LBSM combines social media, mobile networking and GPS, to offer unique marketing opportunities for businesses. Some of these applications offer analytics to help you deepen your understanding of customer behavior while also creating new channels of engagement. LBSM is growing fast – what may be doing well today, may be replaced by something new tomorrow. Note: (There are many names for the same thing, including Geo-Loco and Location Based Service)

1. Location Based Social Media
What’s All the Hype?
Location Based Social Media (LBSM) offers what companies seek
most – an engaged user base that wants to broadcast about your
brand and their experience on Facebook and Twitter.
LBSM combines social media, mobile networking and GPS, to offer
unique marketing opportunities for businesses. Some of these
applications offer analytics to help you deepen your understanding
of customer behavior while also creating new channels of
engagement. LBSM is growing fast – what may be doing well today,
may be replaced by something new tomorrow.
Social Check-In Applications
Social check-in sites allow user’s daily life to be posted on their
social outlets. Users can check in, share information, read tips, and
earn rewards (both virtual and real life) at establishments they visit.
Foursquare www.foursquare.com
Find your friends. Unlock your city.
If any LBSM tool is putting the genre on the map (no pun intended), it’d be
Foursquare. Users can check-in to locations and leave/read tips, see who is currently
or previously checked in, and see where friends have visited. You can either check in
from that location, or log into the website later and retroactively check in.
The incentive? Those who check-in most become a location’s “Mayor”, and businesses
can create specials for them, or based simply on checking in (5th check-in earns an
appetizer). Businesses can promote their participation with Foursquare window clings
and measure their success with Foursquare’s analytics tool.
Marketing Potential
+ Create specials for Mayors
+ Create frequency-based specials for check-ins
(5th check-in earns you a free appetizer)
+ Add Foursquare data to website through open API
+ Analytics of customers who check-in
+ Companies who have partnered with Foursquare can create branded channels
- Unique badges
- Create tips and to-dos
- Push-notify followers of updates in their area
Established: March 2009
Availability: iPhone, Android, Blackberry, Palm, mobile-friendly website, open API
www.efactormedia.com

2. Gowalla www.gowalla.com
Go out with Gowalla.
In steep competition with Foursquare, Gowalla is unique in that you HAVE to be at
that exact location to check-in (no cheating here!). Features include trips created by
users and brands that others can participate in (a completed trip earns a button),
stamps for every location visited, and items that can be dropped and picked up at
destinations. Gowalla users can leave comments and add photos of their experience,
then relive their travels through a personal “passport”.
Marketing Potential
+ Companies who have partnered with Gowalla can create:
- Branded stamps (stamped in passport when checked in)
- Branded items (in which you or others have left behind)
- Branded trips for users to follow
- Push notifications to inform users in a general area
+ Use API to add data to website
+ Create check-in specials
+ Push-notify followers of updates in their area
Established: March 2009
Availability: iPhone, iPad, Android, Blackberry, Palm, open API
MyTown www.mytown.com
“MyTown turns the real world into Monopoly.” – NYT
Unlike other LBSM’s we’ve seen, MyTown combines social check-in functionality with
casual gaming. Users check into virtual versions of real locations, making them virtual
landlords who collect rent and upgrade buildings from drab storefronts to glam high
rises. It gained popularity quicker than any other LBSM – hitting the 1 million user
mark first.
Marketing Potential
+ Companies who have partnered with MyTown may:
- Brand items users use to earn more cash or points
+ Purchase ads based on category or location
+ Future integration of Google Places (enabling suggestions within the local area)
Established: August 2008
Availability: iPhone
Keep Your Eye On
BrightKite | www.brightkite.com
BrightKite touts itself as “the simple way to keep up with friends”, with Twitter-esque features, users can view where others in
their area have checked in, tips they’ve left, and messages about anything (making it the only LBSM with spam).
Whrrl | www.whrrl.com
Whrrl creates societies and builds virtual communities based on real-world living patterns. Check-ins at specific types of
locations offer users membership to different societies, introducing them to local people who share similar interests.
www.efactormedia.com

3. Social REvIEW Check-In Applications
Well established on the internet, review sites are moving to mobile, making reviews
accessible and created on the fly (no need to check it out before you leave the house).
LBSM is quickly being adopted, adding features similar to social check-in sites.
Yelp www.yelp.com
To connect people with great local businesses.
Fresh out of the check-in oven, Yelp’s features allow users to share where they are
with their social networks, with the added benefit of linking that location’s Yelp review
to their friends and followers. Yelp recently added incentives for checking in, including
becoming royalty (duke, baron, and king of neighborhoods), plus badges for unique
types of check-ins (for example: Sushi Sensei for 6 sushi restaurant check-ins).
Yelp seems to be playing catch-up with other check-in powerhouses but they have
the potential to surpass them all thanks to a fanatic user base, a plethora of location-
based information, established business relationships, and overall high regard as a
resource for reviews.
Marketing Potential
+ Create/promote in-store specials
+ Create specials for those who have unique badges or royalty status
+ Great listening tool
+ Deep analytics that connect LBSM data with traditional Yelp user data
Established: July 2004
Availability: iPhone, iPod Touch, Blackberry, Android, Palm Pre, and all other
smartphones, open API
Keep Your Eye On
WHERE | www.where.com
WHERE rethinks the age of “search”, offering immediate access to all the information users would ever want about their area.
The application provides “everything from the weather, news, and restaurant reviews, to the closest coffee shop, cheapest gas,
traffic updates, movie show times and offers from local merchants”. It will take time for the reviews to reach the quality and
magnitude that Yelp has, but WHERE has received substantial funding ($7 million) for future updates.
Geodelic | www.geodelic.com
Geodelic automatically aggregates locations and information based on area, interests, and relevance. It touts the app becomes
more and more “you” with a smart engine that understands where you regularly visit and your interests. Like a travel agent in
your pocket, Geodelic offers on-site experience guides to unique areas (such as the Hollywood Walk of Fame).
www.efactormedia.com

4. Social SCHEdULING Check-In Applications
Social scheduling sites enable users to find upcoming events, and see what their networks
of friends have planned.
Loopt www.loopt.com
discover the world around you.
Loopt is unique because it incorporates events with places. Users read reviews, leave
ratings, provide tips, and view special offers for nearby retailers. Loopt pulls
information from Zagat, Citysearch, Bing, TastingTable, Zvents, Metromix, and
SonicLiving, making it one of the most robust check-in applications available. Unlike
other LBSM’s, there aren’t incentives to checking in on the basic Loopt (read about
Loopt Star below).
Besides the basic Loopt that is available to all smartphone users, Loopt comes in
three other flavors:
+ Loopt Star is a reward-based Loopt application for iPhone/iPad users
+ Loopt Pulse allows iPad users to easily explore Loopt content
+ Loopt Mix connects iPhone/iPad users in an area through chat functionality
Marketing Potential
+ Make sure you’re information is updated on the sites that apply to your business
+ Those who partner with Loopt
- Can create branded experiences on Loopt Star with rewards and special offers
- Can add specials through Loopt and LooptMix
Established: January 2005
Availability: iPhone, iPad, and all other smartphones
Keep Your Eye On
Plancast | www.plancast.com
As the name applies, Plancast focuses on your plans in life, allowing users to share plans and view friends’ plans. With a
simple view of the calendar, Plancast users can see who is going to upcoming events, and what events they may be
interested in attending
Conclusion
Initially it may be overwhelming to think you need to add one more tactic to your social media strategy, but this is not one to skip.
Early adopters reap the rewards of maturing with the applications rather than playing catch up later. Choose one or two that fit
your customer base and marketing objectives, and make it work.
Keep in mind most of these sites are new and experiencing some growing pains – especially in terms of handling advertisers.
Because a partnership is required with many of these platforms, you need to leverage through a brand/event or sometimes an
ounce of luck to create a unique experience. As business models are refined and profitability becomes more reliable, they will get
their act together, and provide easier ways for businesses to engage these audiences.
In the mean time, challenge yourself. Get creative with the tools you have access to in these channels. If well executed, tech savvy
users will appreciate your unique marketing approach and refreshingly new promotions.
Questions? Crazy, confused face? We’d love to talk more.
Morgan Graham |EFM | Social Media Producer | mgraham@efactormedia.com | @EFactorMedia
Note: (There are many names for the same thing, including Geo-Loco and Location Based Service)
www.efactormedia.com