With the massive introduction of mobile terminals and the broad offer of connection to 3G networks from these devices, which has long been offered to their customers by operators, it was to be expected that sooner or later a new concept would creep in among consumers: mobile geolocation. It is something as simple as being able to geographically locate on a map a device and in turn the person who carries it according to the terrestrial coordinates.
The companies have seen with good eyes from the beginning this new tool as a new marketing technique adapted to the times. As almost always in this marketing, the pioneers in this aspect were the Americans of Foursquare.
Foursquare, and what else?
FoursquareIt was the first, but not the only one, much less. Given the resounding success it had in the United States and especially in Asia, the giant Facebook did not hesitate to develop a service similar to Foursquare(after the purchase of several websites specializing in geolocation) to prevent their users migrate to Foursquare where they could share with friends your favorite places. They named it Facebook Places and, contrary to what it might seem, it has never gotten off the ground. Google, for its part, also wanted to focus on geolocation by integrating its Maps service in the social network Google Plus. In fact, they are already developing a new geolocation application calledGoogle Leaderboard.
The numbers make the difference
If we compare the number of users of other social networks such as Facebook, Twitter or Google Plus with respect to Foursquare, they show quite significant differences. For the almost 1000 million users of Facebook or the 140 million Twitter, Foursquare only has 20 million.
What is wrong?
Perhaps this small market has made companies do not bet decidedly by the first social network of geolocation in the world. Foursquare it has not just taken flight. Little accustomed to the everyday use of English have been lost between “tips”, “badgets” and “venues” not understanding their meaning and considering the application as unattractive, when really many times the virtual communication is mixed with a fun game where you can earn points to take advantage of hundreds of discounts in shops.
The privacy and security have been and continue to be a topic that scare users when they hear the term geolocation. Although it is true that we share our locations in public, having several clear principles all this would be solved. You should never indicate a pin or check in your own home to not put a sweet in the mouth of the digital caco. Therefore, it is advisable to check in public places and with an influx of people, such as a concert or an exhibition.
The third reason why Foursquare has not yet managed to succeed is precisely because companies have hardly developed marketing in this social network. There are very few companies and businesses that already have their own profile and grant discounts, gifts and benefits to their elders. And this is precisely the main extra value of Foursquare
Regarding your competition.
It is true that promotions can only be published by those businesses that have already recognized the ownership of the premises. For this, it is a must to claim this property from your “venue”, a task that until recently was too cumbersome because it was requested through a procedure that could be extended for several weeks and that was managed in English directly from the Foursquare headquarters. Now the system is much easier and faster.
An innovative and differentiating bet
Analyzed the situation, it seems interesting that SMEs and large companies that have stores spread across the geography, bet on the geolocation and the game on mobile devices as an alternative to a future (and present) marketing strategy. It is the “whiting that bites its tail”. There are no promotions without clients or clients without promotions.