We have been a little obsessed with the possibilities of location-based social networks and gaming platforms lately so we decided to check ourselves instead of checking in. We hope you enjoy this tongue-in-cheek look at the LBS space. As always, if you have questions about how to activate with this stuff, drop us a tweet (@schneidermike or @EricLeist), leave us a comment, or contact us here.

(left to right) Mike Schneider, Leighann Farrelly, Phil Thomas Di Giulio and Wayne Sutton (photo by @leximaven)

Our own Mike Schneider moderated this week’s MITX panel discussion titled “To Check-In or Not To Check-In? The Opportunities of Location Based Social Networking.” The panel consisted of Pegshot co-founder Phil Thomas Di Giulio, Yelp Boston Marketing Director Leighann Farrelly, and Wayne Sutton, Business Development & Marketing Strategist for TriOut.

We’ve aggregated some of the key insights and tweets from the panel discussion. Enjoy!

Key insights:

• Businesses should take an active role in promoting check-ins and brand engagement on location-based services.
• Each LBS has a different spin. Pegshot puts content first and location second. Triout puts community first, then location. Whrrl puts check-ins first and then integrates a post-checkin experience. Yelp puts food and reviews first and check-ins further down on the priority list. These subtle nuances help to differentiate each service.
• Businesses will have to figure out how to treat data from LBS platforms. That data currently only represents a fraction of a customer base. Marketers need to devise ways of proving the value on these new platforms.
• Check-ins are a means to an end. Businesses and LBS services will have to work together to drive measurable action from those check-ins.

From the Twitterverse:

Are you using an LBS? How are you seeing marketers use these new platforms? Want to talk more about location-based services and some of the goodies we’re working on at a&g? Drop us a tweet (@schneidermike or @EricLeist), leave us a comment, or contact us here.