I belong to a key demographic for small business: I am somewhat new to the area and have not yet succumbed to a habitual routine when it comes to acquiring goods and utilizing services. I am on the prowl to meet new people and to make new friends. I turn to the web to find out about what businesses to visit, what stores to shop, and what places to go. I also take advantage of the recent trend surrounding social check-in tools and location-based mobile applications.
Check-in sites are creating a lot of buzz at this time and their presence isn’t likely to go away anytime soon. In fact, more and more social sites (Twitter, Facebook, etc.) are incorporating location-based features – so it is only poised to grow.
Arguably two of the more prominent location-based sites are Yelp and Foursquare. Both allow users to check-in at various locations and leave tips or reviews of the businesses they visit. Each has implications toward and provides opportunities for small business.
YELP
What is it? Yelp is one of the most well-known ratings and review sites around and features a larger social aspect than many other similar sites. Businesses can enhance their presence by adding promotions, uploading photos, and engaging raters/reviewers. Whether you like it or not, your business is probably on Yelp. This year Yelp added a check-in feature to their mobile application, allowing Yelpers to notify their friends and followers when they visit a business.
Why is it important? When in a foreign destination, a Yelp phone app can help one navigate their way to popular destinations. I used it in both Seattle and Portland to navigate the streets by foot to hip, highly rated coffee shops. I used it last weekend in Anacortes when I wanted a quick bite to eat. In other words, it tells consumers what spots are popular, what spots are hip, what spots are inexpensive or too expensive, and what spots you might want to avoid due to poor service or bad quality. The results can ultimately impact your business.
How can it benefit your business? First and foremost, as with any ratings and reviews site, Yelp is a good judge of how your products and/or services are being received by the customer. At the very minimum, as a small business owner, you should be monitoring your presence. You may also want to take the next step and claim your business. This will allow you to enhance the presence with photos and, to a certain extent, communicate with your raters/reviewers.
FOURSQUARE
What is it? Foursquare is a social location-based game in which participants get points for going out, visiting various destinations, and checking-in at the destination via their mobile phone. The person who has checked in most at a business receives the Mayor badge for that establishment. Badges are earned for achieving various feats, like going out multiple days in a row or checking in at several businesses in a 24-hour period.
Why is it important? Foursquare is currently the most talked-about location-based check-in site at this time. The site appeals to a young (33% of users are 18 to 34) male (58%) population. In May, Mashable reported that Foursquare has “more than half a million users, 1.4 million venues and 15.5 million check-ins.”
How can it benefit your business? Foursquare now allows business managers or owners to claim their business. Once claimed, the owner/manager can acquire venue analytics and set up various specials including mayor specials (available only to the person with the Mayor badge), check-in specials (offered after x number of check-ins at your business), and more.
SOCIAL INTEGRATION
Both Foursquare and Yelp have integrated syndication of reviews and check-ins to popular social sites like Twitter and Yelp. When I checked in at gere-a-deli (an Anacortes sandwich shop) a few days ago, I allowed Foursquare to post my check-in on Twitter and Facebook. Likewise, when I reviewed the Skagit Valley Food Co-op a few months back, I posted my review to Facebook. Foursquare also allowed me to leave a tip at the Co-op — if you bring your own mug, their delicious drip coffee is only $0.97.
Not only can you connect your accounts, you can create a Yelp and Foursquare profile by logging in via Facebook. By connecting Yelp and/or Foursquare to your Facebook account, you can easily find and add friends. On occasion, they’ll even inform you when a Facebook friend has joined the site. I invited two Facebook Friends to connect with me on Yelp over the weekend after being notified via Yelp that they had joined the site.
WHAT THIS MEANS
To put the integration of social networking into perspective, the Mashable article mentioned above notes that Foursquare’s “number-one referrer is Facebook.” That means people frequently click their friends’ Yelp reviews and Foursquare check-ins. And more eyes means greater awareness and opportunities that come with it to connect with your customer base. Especially now that Facebook is about to hit 500 million users, a staggering number.
Whether or not I’m new to the area, I’m looking for local hotspots. If I see a promotion, coupon or other special offered via Yelp, Foursquare or another social site, I am more apt to take advantage of the offer – especially if the business has overwhelmingly positive reviews or is a popular destination.
Location-based social tools aren’t going away, so optimizing your business to take advantage of the potential they offer can ultimately pay off in generating awareness, developing greater customer connections, and ultimately building bigger fans.
Mashable recently posted another article recommending the next direction for location-based sites like these called ‘Beyond The Checkin.’ We recommend it – it’s a good read.