Digital Marketing Benefits of Location-Based Services

Most Internet users actively share information over social networks, using either their computers or mobile phones. This information includes thoughts, photos, videos and their locations, which people hope their friends will view and comment upon. Most digital marketing analysts usually talk about the impact which location-based services (LBS) and smartphones have on user behaviour. However, this article talks about the various benefits that individual users get from participating in social media activities, apart from the usual social benefits.

Below are three common benefits accruing to people exposed to digital marketing activities over social media, smartphones, and location-based sharing sites:

1. Locating products: A user can access a lot of basic digital marketing information based on where they are situated. Alongside this, they can also access 'secondary' information about the product they wish to locate. For instance, Powell's Books, an independent bookstore in Portland, USA, developed an iPhone application that offers prospective customers exact directions to help them locate books being sold within their bookstore. This increases the utility of mobile apps, by not only providing directions to the closest stores, but also replacing the need of asking for help from a store employee.

2. Customer rewards: Virtual currencies provide a simple way to reward loyal customers for their patronage. Just like frequent flyer miles, many virtual currencies have found their way to social media sites, some of which are Facebook Credits, Kickbucks, FarmVille cash and Microsoft Points. Also, some digital marketing applications that offer virtual cash, present better value propositions for customers than real cash. With the development of digital marketing platforms like Facebook Deals, the popularity of virtual currencies is sure to get a big boost. For example, Shopkick is a digital marketing app for mobile phones, that offers people 'kickbucks' to perform actions such as walk into a store, scan items, and 'like' products. The 'kickbucks' earned by a customer add up to discounts, and other special offers, which digital marketing customers can redeem, periodically.

3. Finding people with shared interests: If you have ever wished that someone understood your love for marshmallows or jet-skiing, you are sure to find them through a location-based service. Friend finding is easy through geo-targeting, and people can be matched according to topics, content, and most importantly their location. In fact, various mobile phone applications have been recently developed, that allow you to find friends in your vicinity. Some of these are:

. Color: This is a mobile photo-sharing network, which organizes uploaded photos, based on the location of the person who uploaded the photo.

. Conga: This app enables people to reconnect with people they may have met at a party, festival or other place. It builds a profile of a person by checking their Foursquare and Twitter history, and cross-referencing this profile with other users, to list people they may have unknowingly met, over and over again.

BuzzE: This iPhone application helps people to find interesting things they would like to do near their current location, and meet new people when they arrive at that particular venue.

Qudos Digital is a leading digital marketing agency and can be contacted on 020 8891 2077 or info@qudosdigital.co.uk.

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