Social Location Marketing: Outshining Your Competitors on Foursquare, Gowalla, Yelp & Other Location Sharing Sites

by Simon Salt

Front cover “Too many people are running around nowadays calling themselves ‘social media experts.’ Simon doesn't call himself that. His clients do. And they're right. I'll read anything this man writes.” –Peter Shankman Back cover Social Location Marketing Breakthrough social location marketing techniques for promoting
your service, product, or venue! Social Location Marketing offers powerful new ways to promote practically any product, service, or venue. Now, pioneering expert Simon Salt shows exactly how to make the most of it! Salt introduces Foursquare, Gowalla, Yelp, and other apps, helping you choose your best options, and build cost-effective marketing programs that work. Through real examples, you’ll learn how to reach your key audiences and segments…craft and execute winning strategies on realistic budgets…measure activity and calculate ROI…avoid costly mistakes…and much more! Whatever your goal, role, or industry, this book will help you find new customers where they are, strengthen loyalty and retention, and supercharge profits! You’ll Learn How • Understand how social location marketing works and what it can (and can’t ) do for your business • Learn the surprising realities about who uses social location software • Know your customers and their motivations–and build marketing plans around them • Develop communities of customer advocates who’ll work on your behalf • Use games, competitions, time-limited offers, and other innovative approaches • Successfully reach teens, tweens, women, or men • Discover proven approaches for fashion, retail, hospitality, and restaurants • Effectively handle criticism, and transform negatives into positives • Preview brand-new social location tools, including Google Hotpot • Understand the privacy issues associated with social location marketing SIMON SALT is a key social media influencer who works with large brands and international PR companies. After participating in three succes1tups, he now leads his own marketing communications firm, whose client list includes Fortune® 500 companies. Salt is now conducting a Social Media roadshow, speaking on social location sharing across the United States. He has spoken at major conferences including BlogWorld, Internet Summit, and will speak at SXSW 2011.

240 pages, Paperback

First published January 25, 2011

About the author

Simon Salt is CEO of Marketing Communications Agency IncSlingers. He is a Blogger, Writer & Entrepreneur though not always in that order. He has been published online by Mashable, Read Write Web & others. His book on Social Location Marketing was published by QUE a division of Pearson publications in February 2011. He speaks internationally on the topics of Digital Marketing, Mobile Marketing and Social Media. He works with major brands as an online brand advocate.

Reviews

[Tara Brabazon · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am thrilled with this book. It is so difficult to write about a social formation while it is happening. I have read a series of books recently about the iPad and they have been dire.

Simon Salt has explored social location marketing: how FourSquare, MyTown, Gowalla and others can be deployed by businesses. The book is much more than descriptive. It offers applications and strategies for a range of organizations. It shows the value of games within social location marketing and how to move beyond passive 'check in' and towards active participation.

There may be - there will be - some fine books emerging on social location marketing in the years to come. But this first book deserves top marks for insight, clarity and direction for the marketers and scholars who follow. Brilliant.

[Jason · Rating 4 out of 5]

Put simply, this is the definitive guide to geosocial networking. From beginning to end there is a wealth of knowledge, guidance, brainstorming sources, and even a few case studies to guide a potential user or business along the way. Great book for the target audience.

[Tami · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’m pretty new to the concept of location based games. My initial thoughts have been that social location marketing is a phenomena focusing on a young audience. Therefore, certain trendy businesses such as coffee houses, bars, and restaurants would find these tools pretty useful.

While this is true, gaming in general is not so limited. The statistics are actually pretty surprising about who is playing games- specifically social games. Moreover, whereas gaming used to be something someone did alone, they are now becoming far more social in nature. Be that playing Black Ops online with a pack of other gamers (communicating through headsets) or playing Farmville on Facebook with your aunt and second cousin.

So while my initial reaction was that social location marketing was limited to a particular type of business focusing on a specific type of customer, Social Location Marketing has shown me that this is just a first step in a potential evolution. This is a tool with much potential.

[Kim Heimbuch · Rating 3 out of 5]

Simon Salt is someone all of us need to be listening too. We have all of this phenomenal technology at our fingertips, yet so many people are even brushing the surface when marketing themselves, their product, business, or workplace. There really is no reason to not utilize all of the sources since now we have apps and programs that will combine one thought and flood it out to numerous sites. Encouraging customers to post their experiences on sites such as Yelp increases awareness, customer service and satisfaction and gives a potential clients a view of your portfolio.
If you are trying to increase your marketability, look no further than this book.

[Samra · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great read.