.If you’ve ever played Pokemon Go, used Google Maps, or an app like Waze, or found a nearby friend on Facebook or Snapchat, you’ve used geolocation. Whether you intend to use it or not, geolocation is a tool in your smartphone that can be harnessed for marketing power.
How does geolocation work
Your smartphone has positioning capabilities that use RFID (radio-frequency identification). Additionally, your computer has an IP address that can be used to give your location. These positioning capabilities are known as geolocation, as they provide a location of your position on earth. Because people use their geolocation services on their smartphones, businesses have figured out how to access the information and use it to their benefit.
How we use geolocation on our smartphones
Businesses of all sizes rely on apps like Foursquare or Yelp to help customers find their locations. If you’ve ever searched for pizza near me, you’ve probably received results from Yelp and Foursquare. If you’re near businesses that use geolocation apps, they can actually send you information when you are nearby or when you walk through their doors. That information can include promotions and specials or offers and rewards.
Social sites like Foursquare, LevelUp, Ibotta, and more use geolocation and social sites to find out when their customers are nearby. Then, they can update you,
- with offers,
- provide badges,
- and suggest other places you might enjoy.
All of the information is gathered by and delivered to smartphones. Most of the apps connect through Twitter, Snapchat, Facebook, and Instagram.
How you can use geolocation to grow your business
If you want to use geolocation to help market and grow your business, there are a few things you can do. First, you can work with popular apps like Foursquare, Yelp, and Google Maps. This way, you can easily be found if someone is in your area. If you have the appropriate tool, you can gather data about the customers who visit your store. This could help you with future visits and potential sales.
Geolocation technology for small businesses is still developing. Currently, geolocation apps can do a few things for businesses and customers. Stores with a large online and brick-and-mortar presence use these features, but small businesses are beginning to access them and use them to their advantage:
- Provide location-based offers (offer coupons or
- Connect Internet shopping with brick-and-mortar stores
- Provide a customer’s location
- Push a value exchange
- Create a sales territory
- Analyze data
- Share location-based photos
Small businesses that have the financial resources could develop their own apps that use geolocation to provide offers to customers.
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