I don't know about you, but I get excited talking about location-based services.  You know, the type of services that are dependent on where you are at any point in time.  In 1999 through 2001 I worked with a telecommunications company that was attempting to bring location-based services to cell phones.  At that time, the mobile networks weren't as robust as they are today, there were very few Internet-capable phones, no iPhone or Droid, and Facebook, Twitter, and about 50,000+ other web applications did not exist.  As you can imagine, not much was sold back then.   There just wasn't a large enough value proposition for the carriers to deploy these services.

Today, however, location-based services are thriving.  You may not even be aware that you are using them, but nearly all cell phones, Internet devices, and mobile applications utilize location information for some purpose. 

Local Search is currently the largest use of location-based services.  This includes such applications as Yelp!, Foursquare, and Gowalla.  These applications enable rapid search for local businesses and provide a forum to post comments, give ratings, and earn discounts on services or merchandise.  These sites are rapidly gaining popularity due to their ease of use on mobile phones.  In addition to their obvious functionality, they allow connections to popular social media sites, which enables the comments and updates to reach a much wider audience.  This integration with Social Networks creates a pushed advertisement whenever an individual checks-in.  This functionality fits in nicely with the goals of Social Media Marketing, which are, to advertise, converse, and build trust with your community.    

Due to the exponential growth in this area, I recommend to all my clients that they check if their business is included in the top local search apps and tools.  If it isn't then we add it and set it up to provide notifications when comments are posted.  This action enables the business to build relationships with their customers by responding to both positive and negative postings.  When the business participates, customers believe that they are important, which builds confidence that your company is one they want to continue doing business with or refer to their acquaintances.

In closing here is an action item to get you started.  Check out these three applications (Yelp!, Foursquare, Gowalla) and add your business, or take ownership if it is already present.   Check in periodically to see what people are saying and provide polite responses when you think it is appropriate.  After a while you will see what services are worth your time and marketing effort, and can adjust your involvement accordingly.

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