Marco… Yelp-o!

This last week, Yelp announced an update to their mobile apps, allowing “check-ins.” This announcement is an attempt by Yelp to take advantage of the growing popularity of geo-location based networks like Foursquare, Gowalla and MyTown.

All of these location based social networks operate off the same basic concept — Users sign-up and connect with their friends, arrive at a location (like a bar, coffee shop, work, store, etc.) and update the network from their phone. At this point they are alerted to any friends who are nearby, given the option to read/write reviews for their current location, and can even access coupons or offers from the establishment itself. Some of these networks also include a “game” element, where users can get awards for having the most check-ins at a particular location or in a particular category of locations and so on.

Foursquare already works with businesses to offer exclusive deals that users unlock with check-ins. Most of these services, especially Yelp, work in reviews and suggestions along with the service. When you check-in, you’re prompted to provide a review and you can be alerted to suggested locations nearby that you might be (more) interested in.

After Yelp’s announcement, there was some discussion about which network is best and who will come out on top . There was also a bit of backlash; was Yelp just trying to cash in on other people’s work? To me, that’s not the main take-away.

The most important part of this whole debate is the increased overlap between social networks and users’ real life activities — all via mobile devices. I remember back at SXSW last year, Foursquare had just come on the scene and was only available in a few cities. Now its popularity is sky-rocketing and similar networks are spinning off in every direction.

If your business has a physical address, you cannot afford to ignore this trend.  Imagine some implications:

• Someone checks into your location, all their friends see that check-in, leading to higher visibility for you. Offering special discounts encourages people to check-in, increasing your visibility even more
• You can create a sub-community around these networks by offering special badges or events for people who check-in regularly
• You can ignore these networks and as users check-in to your business, they see suggestions for competitors nearby with higher user ratings — you could stand to lose business
• On the flip-side, you can pay attention to the services and reviews, becoming the highly rated business that people want to visit

Yelp might not be the originator of this trend, but it does represent the spread of this idea to a larger audience. Users on Foursquare and Gowalla tend to be part of a more digitally savvy crowd. Yelp’s entry to the market brings this service to a much larger customer base and underscores the importance and popularity of this type of network. This is part of a larger movement of social media, where aspects of our digital and physical lives start to merge. This is a shift I don’t see slowing down, only speeding up. Businesses should recognize this as an opportunity to connect social media relationships with their actual store-front. Those that get into this space now stand to gain quite a bit, while those that don’t will probably be scrambling, by the end of this year, to catch up.

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• Foursquare Fans Check-in via Desktop with FoursquareX (crenk.com)
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Tagged as: Foursquare, geo location, geolocation, geolocation based services, geolocation networks, Gowalla, mobile app, mobile device, mobile reviews, mobile social network, Mytown, Social network, social reviews, yelp