people checking in on Foursquare
It wasn’t long ago that I visited Sheffield with an old university friend, and without question I found that time had changed our social etiquette.
We have become creatures of social media and instead of simply sitting down, grabbing a drink and chatting, the first 20 minutes were spent looking at where we were on our phones (the obvious door sign didn’t suffice), if there were any deals and ultimately declaring “I’ve checked in…ha!”
Mobile communications have become so important for the growth of social media that without them, the way we communicate with each other and with brands would be very different to today.
So when Facebook invented Places, you think that the world’s largest social media site, coupled with an active and engaged audience would be able to sway the devoted Foursquare and Gowalla crowd. It hasn’t… yet.
The issue isn’t if it’s been successful, the numbers speak for themselves, but rather, why wasn’t it any better?
In Facebook’s rushed attempt to launch a geo-location product, it didn’t recognise that what made the competition so popular in the first place was the element of fun and interactive play that you had with the competitor products. Collecting badges, associated check-ins with free products, and the good old games you could play with your friends by leaving your own digital imprint with your visits.
None of this is available with Facebook places and ultimately for it to really serve its purpose as one stop shop it needs to sharpen up, and quick.
The advantage is that Facebook has detailed profiles of its users, their likes, interests and who their friends are. If the application could tap into these elements, then not only will people recognise the benefits but businesses will as well.
Targeted marketing campaigns for check-ins, discounts and cross-product selling can all be tapped into, and the best of all, the information will be available at the marketer’s fingertips. It could allow for more dynamic, on the spot communications and make a consumer purchase journey even more fun and enjoyable at the same time.
So come on Facebook, put down your soya triple shot latte’s and make me check in somewhere interesting!
by Gino De Blasio
Juice Digital
Social Media agency, Manchester
