Posted on July 28, 2010 - by Wayne Sutton

6 Reasons why you should check-in with location-based services such as TriOut, Foursquare, Brightkite, Whrrl, Gowalla, Scvngr, PlacePop, Yelp and more!

Yesterday afternoon I was on a geo / location-based twitter rant due to various market research reports and blog post about the value of location-based services and the adoption of them. I’m not saying the research was inaccurate but I think the main message that was being delivered to marketers about the current state of location-based services could have been delivered better. If you have no clue what I’m talking about read the following post:

Study: Foursquare, LBS Apps Have Narrow Audience, Prime For Early Adopter Marketers

Foursquare for Marketing: Location Based Apps Unknown by 84% Surveyed – Forrester

The Case for Early Adoption: Why Forrester is Wrong About Marketers and Location-Based Services

Forrester: Why Most Marketers Should Forgo Foursquare

Regardless after my little twitter rant, my good friend @djwaldow posted a tweet saying “What if I told you I’ve never used ‘em. Convince me in 140 chars?”. So I went I posted two tweets, a little over 140 characters to convince him to join at least one location-based service. Here’s my response: 6 Reasons why you should check-in using location-based services:

1. Checking in is an additional relationship channel. Everyone loves social media/networks especially Facebook because it builds relationship and connects people right? By checking in your friends can easily see your frequent places and can join you and/or have the opportunity to perictipte in in

2. Location endorsement: When you check into a location and broadcast via twitter or facebook it’s like an endorsement saying I’m here and you recommend the location. What happens in terms of customer engagement/your experience can be easily shared making the location space another valuable social channel not only for businesses but for marketers as well.

3. Exploration when Traveling: Yelp is probably one of the best at finding new places and reading reviews from your social graph or the local community. Then I would say foursquare but if you’re in the Raleigh, Durham, Chapel Hill area use TriOut. Checking into locations while traveling is not only a great way to meet new friends but you can easily see the most popular recommended locations from the community.

4. Mobile social story telling: My friend @schneidermike calls this the “post check-in experience” (PCE). With location-based apps such TriOut, PegShot, Whrrl, Birghtkite & Gowalla you can add additional social content outside of a text based message like a tweet. By uploading pictures or videos after checking in your friends can see more of what you’re experiencing at a location.

5. Tracking/Stalking: If you’re comfortable with random people showing up just to say hello or joining you for coffee, feel free to check-in everywhere. Also depending on your family or work, you can check-in and use it as a way of confirming that you’re where you’re suppose to be.

6. Customer rewards: This by far is one of the most popular reasons many are joining location-base services and why not? You’re already visiting a location, why not check-in and be rewarded for it. It could be 5 to 10% off your purchase or a free drink or a coupon or cash with apps like @WeReward. But the problem right now is that many businesses have yet to offer a customer loyalty location promotions and the growing geek herds are getting impatient. Give the location-based space some time and you’ll have more customer loyalty check-in promotions that you can use.

Do you use TriOut, Foursquare, Brightkite, Whrrl, Gowalla, Scvngr, PlacePop or other location-based services to check-in? If so why or why not?

Do you think this is enough to convince @djwaldow to join a location-based service?

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About the Author

Written by Wayne Sutton

Wayne is the business development/marketing strategist for TriOut and partner at OurHashtag. For more, follow SocialWayne.com on Twitter, Buzz, and Facebook. Also check out the SocialWayne Podcast in iTunes. See all posts by Wayne Sutton.