Social networking and GPS could change the way we market our businesses

Social networking continues to develop at a rate of knots with some pretty big step changes along the way. With the emphasis shifting from asking each other ‘what are you doing?’ to ‘where are you?’, location is becoming the driving force and GPS is most definitely making its mark. 



Satellite navigation software is now installed as standard on Smartphones and providers are making it difficult for users not to share locations. Apple, for instance, closes its iTunes store to people who won’t disclose where they are! Rummble and Foursquare are a couple of examples of popular emerging location based networks and worth exploring further.

Foursquare is being profiled as the next big thing after Twitter – the app already has two million users – it uses GPS technology in mobile phones to pinpoint people’s positions, then lists shops, pubs, cafes and other nearby places.

Imagine walking through London, looking for somewhere to eat, and receiving ‘in the area’ discount codes and promotional offers to your mobile? And afterwards you can leave tips and reviews for others to follow.

Location based networks could open up a whole new world for businesses, particularly those working in retail, tourism, leisure, and food and drink sectors, where there are endless possibilities.

Foursquare has taken off in the US (San Francisco is home to the most users) and is now beginning to emerge here in the UK. Another American success, Amazon’s online grocery service, has also now arrived in the UK. Customers have access to 22,000 stock lines with free delivery and discounts for buying in bulk.

Could this signal a little competition for our online supermarket giants? It will be interesting to watch. In the meantime, Tesco needs to keep a careful check on its own online marketing strategies. It recently sent a male shopper a very ‘female’ email newsletter and rather than winning his attention, it was likely to drive him to Amazon in one press of his keyboard. This one’s definitely worth a read and shows even the big boys can get it wrong!

Dawn Strange
Accounts Director