If you pride yourself on snagging the best deals, be sure to check out, or rather “in,” to your favorite brands. “Checking in” is no longer restricted to physical locations. Today, people are checking into their favorite books, movies and of course brands. It’s just another way to define yourself via the web or your phone.
Mashable cites five main reasons people use location-based applications as: serendipity, game dynamics, as a personal diary, for sharing experiences and to score deals. A personal favorite of mine is deals, which is how most brands increase consumer interaction. What gets you to check in?
From Mashable:
Within the spectrum of social media, the act of sharing essentially amounts to a desire to personally define ourselves to others. In the age of the social network, there are an almost infinite number of options for creating that personal definition on the web. Checking in is just one of the newer ones.
“If a tree falls in the middle of the woods but no one is around, does it exist?” Or the digital edition: “If you visit your favorite bar at Santacon and never check in on Foursquare, did it ever really happen?”
There is an art to checking in and a way to make it part of your online identity. Below, we walk through some of the obstacles and best practices for doing it right. Read on and let us know what tips worked for you in the comments below.
Location, Content, Brand
This all began with location but has shifted to allow users to check in to TV, movies, books and finally to brands. Each of these additional options allows us to personally define ourselves by answering the following questions: Where am I? What am I watching/reading? What am I buying?
While each of these choices from location, to content, to brand allows for an additional layer of sharing, they also each call for an additional level of activity from the user. It’s not enough to visit a restaurant or watch a TV show; we now must announce to the world that we’re doing it.