Obviously there’s some merit to the idea of people who share information that they think is abundantly useful to the rest of the world. Even when it’s not. Case in point, I get notifications from my Facebook friends who have joined the virtual Mafia, Farmville or picked up some other thing of wonderful use to them that they must communicate to the rest of us. Not to mention the Facebook updates about where they ate yesterday. Couldn’t be happier for them.

You may not understand why people would want to advertise where they are to others. Doesn’t matter. What you need to know is that the concept of sharing isn’t going away. It’s being done and done consistently.

So when a GPS locator tool like Foursquare or Gowalla comes along that allows people to “check-in” at the location they’re in and communicate that to the social media universe, you can see there’s a precedent for those tools to grow in popularity. Yesterday, I checked in at 5 Guys Burgers in Boca Raton and communicated it to others on Twitter and the other devices I have linked to Twitter (I’m liking Gowalla just a bit more than Foursquare right now, but they’re basically two sides of the same coin). Like some Facebook games, you can get little virtual trinkets and badges for checking in on Foursquare and Gowalla.

That was fun. Now it’s time to get real.

What’s in for me to continue doing this? Ah. That’s the challenge that Foursquare and Gowalla must solve. Getting people on board is less of a problem than giving them the incentive and reward to continue the behavior before something else comes along in the social media universe that’s more interesting to do.

I don’t know if they’ll figure out how to do that from their end, but that doesn’t mean that you can’t harness the potential of either tool as a restaurant or bar owner anyway. Here’s how:

When somebody checks in, your restaurant or bar appears automatically via GPS and can be quickly added through you or a customer as an option on the map. You can see if the person is someone who has checked in the most or how many times that person has visited. You can see if it’s their first time.

Different types of visitors can be rewarded in different ways. The point is that they need to be rewarded, period.

Their first time visiting? They get a two-for-one drink special. Their 5th time? A free appetizer. They’re the one who visited the most this month? One of the meals at their table is free. You can customize the offer to your needs.

I’ve heard some criticism that with Foursquare, you can check in without being at the location and cheat the system (I haven’t been able to do this with Gowalla). However, I’m not convinced of the level that this “check-in fraud” is being done and to play Devil’s Advocate…so what if they did cheat the system and say they ate and drank in your place when they didn’t? They’re still promoting your place of business to others in their social network. Sure, you’d love them to have actually been there, but if a good word spreads regardless, I see giving them a coupon as returning the favor. I just don’t think this is as much of a potential problem as some make it out to be.

By the way, Facebook is entering into such location-based services, which is something to keep a close eye on as well. I sure wouldn’t bet against them. This has to be of concern to Foursquare and Gowalla, but I still wouldn’t make it a huge concern of yours. Why? Because when people are checking in, thereby communicating to all their friends that they’re eating and drinking at your establishment, you’ve just received a nice dose of credible word-of-mouth in your favor. While you don’t have to honor every smartphone app that utilizes check-in if you don’t want to, there is great upside of immediately rewarding those who share their connection to your business with many others.

Additionally, the more people you bring in who utilize these tools – and I’m assuming your service is strong enough to encourage return visits – the more likely you’ll encourage chatter from them in each tool’s “Tips” section where people can say what they liked best about the food, atmosphere, etc. Here again, you could reward the best review if you like.

What I see here is the potential for word-of-mouth and loyalty on steroids. It’s going to have to come from the restaurant and bar owner’s end to fulfill that potential and complete the circle with suitable rewards.

So it’s your choice. But rather than be skeptical of what’s new or point out any flaws from a technical aspect, I believe it’s time you show your customers how to use these GPS locator tools to their advantage and yours. Along the way, you’ll get a nice sense of who your best customers are and even be able to shape behaviors among smartphone carriers. And you and I both know those things aren’t going away anytime soon.

Questions? You know where to find me.

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