The obsession with following the everyday, often mundane, actions of others has become a phenomenon within the world of status update platforms such as Twitter and Facebook.  Location-based services (LBS) build on these existing outlets, and allow a user to enhance the way that they previously presented or manifested elements of their everyday life by sharing more detailed experiences without significantly altering the method of transmission.

However, before you can implement LBS applications into your marketing platform, you must understand the technology behind it.  Location-based services leverage GPS data (most often in cellphones) in order to allow customers to tag their location at any given moment.

The marketing opportunities that arise from these services are most often created by campaigns meant to influence the tagging of locations by customers, which in turn can yield benefits for the customer, while you gain publicity across the user's social network.

Most LBS options, such as Foursquare and Facebook Places, are not exactly mainstream, but are growing tremendously and attracting considerable marketing attention.  Foursquare has close to 9 million users, and while merely a fraction of the total "social media-lite" population, it is a number worth noting --the user base increased by an amazing 50 percent in the last six months alone.

The concept of LBS as an advertising tool is being explored in many markets, and existing implementations can help define the opportunity for future successful application and growth within a business setting.

Loyalists

It is vital to understand the actual role that this service has within society.  Location-based tools provide a direct link between individuals and their environment, but are distinctive because the customer initiates the link, not the business.  Understanding why users take the initiative to create this link is the first step in reaching your audience.

Users that check-in to your business locations without encouragement are your loyalists.  They connect with the brand image that you represent (Awesome!), and they want to project that image to their followers.

The initial objective of a location-based marking campaign should be to offer loyalist incentives for check-ins.

Rewarding your loyalists is positive reinforcement for aligning with your brand. Instead of being wary about giving products away, think of the ad-rate equivalency of your social media exposure.  Location-based marketing goes through filtered channels that save you the time and money of identifying the best way to reach select demographics, and helps you avoid expensive traditional media outlets.

The individual who has checked in to a location the most times is considered the "mayor" of that location.  Businesses have leveraged this loyalty into their marketing schemes, and have begun to reward users, offering "mayors" special parking, discounts and even honoring them within the store.  This gives the campaign a competitive feel.  It challenges your customers with the question, "Who can be the biggest fan?"

Again, don't be afraid to offer your "mayor" a super deal -they are your number one customer and provide a valuable testimonial.

Mayors? What if I don't even have loyalists?

You must attract them!  Location-based marketing opens the opportunity for manufactured surprise.  You can create secret deals that users can only access once they have checked in to your location.  This element of surprise excites users, and exponentially increases the chance that they will transmit their experience on to others.

Once you create your platform, experiment with different deals.  Track the success of each campaign to create baseline interaction data.  Identify the type of deal that gets users involved, and then innovate with continual efforts aimed at beating that baseline data.

Another way to jump-start your location-based marketing program is to create promotions that are restricted to location-based services, such as a dinner special that is only available to those who have checked in.  You can even create loyalty programs that increase savings with the rate of interaction, and this will ensure that users don't become bored with the platform.

Now Implement!

By checking into a location, a user is not only promoting a business, but telling their own story and creating their own image --the business collects the residual benefits of exposure.  Therefore, to successfully integrate, a business cannot own someone's experiences, but aim to drive them.

For example, a retailer that faced a very competitive market teamed with Foursquare to create a successful, national location-based marketing campaign.  With a premise of attracting customers and establishing a community following, the retailer offered checked-in users a digital scratch-off ticket with potential rewards ranging from modest incentives to substantial discounts.

The potential for savings attracted a wide array of followers; amazingly 44% of the soon established community had never even visited one of the store locations before.  These customers were not familiar with the brand, but they were passionate about saving money and wanted to share their good fortune with friends. These customers advertised their savings among a community of devoted "money savers."  In this case, spreading the news was more about the individual experience than it was about the company.

The Lesson

Let the people be your voice. LBS marketing platforms empower consumers to drive awareness of your brand

and your promotions. This turns traditional marketing upside-down, but effectively delivers results.   If you're willing to reward customers for their interactions, you'll undoubtedly see rewards come your way as well.