Location-based social networks are presently on the tip of everyone’s tongue — and arguably with good reason. Fresh off a funding round worth $20 million, Foursquare just hit 2 million users, Twitter is busy revamping its Places feature, and CNNMoney just tapped Gowalla to support its annual “100 Best Places to Live” list.
Yet based on some preliminary research, Forrester analyst Melissa Parrish doesn’t believe the time is right for marketers to begin investing significant sums on their LBSN strategies.
“Though many LBSNs are gathering steam, the landscape is fragmented and the programs can’t scale just yet,” says Parrish. Indeed, Forrester finds that just 1% of U.S. online adults are actually using LBSNs weekly, while 4% of them have tried them at least once.
“The sample size of this 1% of adults who use LBSNs regularly is small, so our findings on their behaviors is directional only, but our research shows that these users are typically young, male, well-educated, and influential,” Parrish explains.
