Forrester Research EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Geosocial applications — also known as location-based social networks — hold potential for interactive marketers: They can help increase in-store visits, your brand's visibility, and consumer word of mouth by connecting people with their locations and with their friends. But despite this potential, most marketers haven't embraced the opportunity. And it's no wonder, because consumer adoption of location-based apps has been slow: Last year we found that only 4% of US online adults used geolocation apps monthly or more. And today although people are increasingly aware of geosocial apps and installing them on their devices, the number of people who actively use them is stagnant. But the makers of geosocial apps have recently stepped up to the challenge by adding new features to enable special offers based on location, better social networking, and more user-generated content. In this report, we help you understand who the geosocial app user is today, what marketing opportunities are available, and how to pilot geosocial apps to prepare for an increasingly location-based marketing world.
Checking In
Six percent of U.S. online adults use geolocation apps, up from 4 percent last year, according to new research from Forrester.
It’s not a big surprise that location-based services aren’t terrifically mainstream — Foursquare says it has 15 million registered users worldwide, and one-time competitor Gowalla is now fully out of the market through a deal to send some of its staff to Facebook.
That said, awareness of geolocation apps is on the rise. Thirty percent of those surveyed by Forrester said they know what geolocation applications are, versus 16 percent last year.
And geolocation app usage is getting ever so slightly more gender-balanced. Now, 37 percent of users are women, up from 22 percent in 2010.
Geolocation app users tend to be post-college adults. Forty-three percent are between the ages of 23 to 31.
Forrester’s point in all this is to look at the bright side: Money. Young, male and overshare-y is a good demographic.
P.S. If you add up the pie slices above, it makes it look like 5 percent of those surveyed use geolocation apps. However, Forrester said the total number is 6 percent with rounding.
It’s not a big surprise that location-based services aren’t terrifically mainstream — Foursquare says it has 15 million registered users worldwide, and one-time competitor Gowalla is now fully out of the market through a deal to send some of its staff to Facebook.
That said, awareness of geolocation apps is on the rise. Thirty percent of those surveyed by Forrester said they know what geolocation applications are, versus 16 percent last year.
And geolocation app usage is getting ever so slightly more gender-balanced. Now, 37 percent of users are women, up from 22 percent in 2010.
Geolocation app users tend to be post-college adults. Forty-three percent are between the ages of 23 to 31.
Forrester’s point in all this is to look at the bright side: Money. Young, male and overshare-y is a good demographic.
P.S. If you add up the pie slices above, it makes it look like 5 percent of those surveyed use geolocation apps. However, Forrester said the total number is 6 percent with rounding.
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