Location check-in services are one of the hottest topics in networking at the moment, and Facebook have stepped into the arena with the unveiling of Facebook Places. With location sharing capabilities and Facebook network integration, it will be interesting to see how this new Facebook tool manages to compete with Foursquare, Yelp, and other popular services.
It is only a matter of time until Facebook Places integrates with Facebook’s business pages, which is very good news for any businesses who wish to utilise the huge Facebook network for marketing and promotion. While Foursquare have done exceptionally well in a short period of time, you would have to have your money on Facebook for long term domination of the location check-in market.
However, Facebook are going to have to do a lot more in order to dominate over Foursquare and other established services, as the simple act of sharing a location available now is unlikely to be enough to entice users. In contrast, Foursquare offer users a number of more compelling and addictive feature, such as the point system, badges, and the Mayor designation. Not only are these tools more rewarding for users, they are a lot more powerful for businesses who are looking for new and innovative ways to integrate their marketing with check-in services.
If Facebook Places is to compete with Foursquare, it is going to need more powerful features and business integration. Foursquare have already set up relationships with lots of different businesses, and spent a lot of time developing their service as a valuable marketing platform for everyone involved. Individual businesses like Starbucks who are already on Foursquare are able to easily offer discount offers and other incentives to their customers, which builds both their business and the entire check-in network.
At the moment, Facebook Places lacks the volume of users, locality destinations, and innovative features to make its service truly desirable. However, they obviously have the potential to integrate with the entire Facebook network of over 500 millions members, meaning that Foursquare and Yelp are probably shaking in their boots – at least a little bit.
