Web 2.0 and Social MediaBusiness in a Connected World

Chapter 9

© McHaney and Sachs 2016

Location-Based Social Media

Google maps and other location services

Geography Related Social Media Concepts

Big advantages of social media include the reduction of geographic and time-based constraints. This means that no matter where a person is located, she or he can interact with others around the globe at any time.

iPhone example

Location Services Can Be Enabled on Mobile Devices

Many devices can passively or actively determine their location based on satellite, cellular or other information.

Location-based mobile platforms enable users to “check in” via a smartphone app and share their location and other details with friends and businesses.

iPhone example

Foursquare and Swarm

Foursquare and Swarm create competition between users by encouraging them to earn points and stickers for leaving tips, information, and photos of their current location.

Foursquare is a young company, founded in 2009 by Dennis Crowley and Naveen Selvadurai. Over 60 million users as of June 2016.

History

Foursquare and Swarm Facts

How social interaction is encouraged by Foursquare and Swarm

Foursquare User Activity

Awards for reporting social interactions around venues.

Foursquare Stickers Compared to Prior Badge System

Foursquare and Swarm for Business

PremiseFoursquare specifically designed for business use. Software allows businesses to find, interact with, interest, reward, and retain customers.

VenueBusinesses control and personalize their venue and have access to user traffic, comments, and other statistics.

SpecialsBusinesses can create specials to reward loyal customers using Foursquare services.

Data ServicesBusiness have access to free data services to better understand customers

Foursquare Business Activities

Foursquare Special Offer Example

Foursquare App and Swarm

Foursquare Splits

Foursquare developed to connect people to geographic locations and places: 1) helped people find a place; 2) helped people with friends.

Recently, Foursquare split into two different applications: Foursquare and Swarm.

The Foursquare App acts as a venue rating and review site. Swarm deals with checking into venues, meeting friends, and in a sense turns visits into a game.

Local business social networking site that provides reviews and discussions related to services primarily in food, restaurant and entertainment venues.

Large community of users in metropolitan regions but also has expanded into smaller, regional areas.

Yelp users submit reviews on places, products or services using a five-star rating system, and then add comments.

Find Local Services and Businesses

Yelp

Businesses claim venues and provide updated information such as contact details, operation hours and other information. Businesses also can respond to user reviews.

Russel Simmons and Jeremy Stoppelman, formerly of PayPal, founded Yelp in 2004. By 2010, it had yearly revenues exceeding $30 million and boasted more than 4.5 million user reviews. It went public in 2012. In 2016, Yelp.com has 135 million monthly visitors and over 95 million user reviews.

Example review on Yelp

Yelp History

Some businesses claim competitors have manipulated reviews (but that is rare).

Yelp for Business: Paul Chaney Tips

Claim Your Business PageProvides a place where photos can be added, links can be provided to the business Website, restaurant menus or other business artifacts can be added, offers listed, and business operating information updated.

Yelp for Business: Paul Chaney Tips (Continued)

MaintainBusinesses need to update and maintain operating information. Yelp provides places for business name, address, phone number, hours of operation, and other items.

Pay Attention to ReviewsRead those and identify what customers are saying. Positive reviews help rank the business higher, and negative ones can be used to make improvements.

ShowcasePhotos can be added to showcase a business and add visual interest.

Yelp for Business: Paul Chaney Tips (Continued)

ToolsYelp provides tools to encourage customers to visit a business. These incentives include deals and gift certificates.

Yelp for Business: Paul Chaney Tips (Continued)

Business AnalyticsYelp provides business analytics related to user visits. The administrative console offers a set of tools to track visitor engagement, customer leads, revenue estimates, and other features.

Yelp for Business: Paul Chaney Tips (Continued)

AdvertisingYelp offers a variety of advertising options. The pricing ranges from free to full service. Among the more popular options are features to remove competitor ads, calls to action, slideshows, and targeted ads.

A Yelp button or badge can be added to a business Website;

A link to Yelp can be included in email signatures;

A Yelp sticker can be placed in a store window;

Customers can be encouraged to check-in using Yelp’s mobile app when visiting.

Tying Yelp to a Business Place

Yelp Effectiveness

Database of roadways produced from automatic acquisition of user data as people drove.Waze

Social Media and GeographyWaze is a community-driven social media application that gathers map data and traffic information from users. It provides a good example of the local-based applications emerging in mobile user environments.

Pay Attention to ReviewsWaze is tied closely to GPS and map systems, and learns from user driving times and experiences to provide real-time routing and traffic updates.

Personal Observation DataPersonally observed data items reflect driving experiences. Among these are real-time accidents, traffic jams, police presence, and speed traps.

Engages with Users

Waze

Waze was developed in Israel and launched there in 2008.

A few years later it was purchased by Google.

Goal of using social media to save each driver five minutes a day. Since that time, Waze has become an application that seeks to collect and to develop a deeper understanding of why traffic happens. Waze has more than 50 million users.

According to Forbes Tech, Waze has become popular because it has figured out how to engage with users

Location based social media services tie geography and local businesses to people wishing to know more and use their services.

Foursquare and Swarm use social media to connect people to businesses and friends to each other in social venues.

Yelp has created a social-media driven business model that offers a variety of truly helpful features. It links physical location with the benefits offered by social media in way that improves business performance.

Waze created a social media experience where drivers generate data and help each other save time driving.

Chapter 9 Summary

Contact: Roger McHaney, Kansas State University, mchaney@ksu.edu