'Local social': A new opportunity for small businesses?

 

There are now so many social networks out there that you can befriend, follow and find your contacts based on what they are doing, what they think or even what kind of hobbies or sports they like. One of the newest ideas to be adopted by social network enthusiasts is the idea of location-based networking, where you connect with people based around where you are at a particular moment – with businesses using the idea to connect with customers by creating special offers to encourage trade and loyalty.

 

Foursquare is perhaps the best known examples of ‘local social’ to emerge of late and its recent arrival means that traffic hasn’t been monopolised by big brands yet, so smaller businesses should certainly take a look. It’s a rapidly growing trend; Foursquare now has over 10 million users. But is 'local social' capturing enough consumers to muscle in on your marketing strategy?