Do you want to market those girl getaways through Foursquare, Gowalla or Loopt?
Hold off for now, says a new Forrester Research report, Location-based Social Networks: A Hint of Mobile Engagement Emerges.
“Forrester recommends that bold, male-targeted marketers start testing but that most marketers should wait until they can get a bigger bang for their buck, when adoption rates increase and established players emerge from the fray,” the report says.
The Forrester study notes that a mere 4% of U.S. online adults have ever checked-in with a location-based service and only about 1% file updates more than once a week, according to Advertising Age.
So, if you feel like all of your friends and colleagues are checking-in all over the country on some nights, rest assured that your circle of intimates is a narrow one.
Forrester reports that the vast majority of location-based apps users are male and the research company recommends that gaming, consumer electronics and sportswear advertisers will find these mobile apps the most fertile for testing, Advertising Age says.
Many industry people argue that travel is a perfect fit for location-based apps.
For example, InterContinental Hotels Group is connecting with guests through Gowalla when they check-in at the property.
Many other travel companies, too, are experimenting with location-based apps and depending on the results, they may dissent from the study’s findings.
The issue may come down to this: Location-based apps may become a sweet spot for travel marketers — but when?
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Nothing wrong with testing the waters early, when a misstep won’t hurt your brand. These trials should all be part of an overall social web engagement strategy which, as many studies now show, is not a guarantee for immediate bottom line results but essential nevertheless.
Joe: I agree that testing the waters early would be a good move. Nothing wrong with being an early adopter and working out all the kinks while the conservative crowd lays back for a few years.