Consumers have been using Twitter to comment about recent experiences but with location aware platforms emerging, more recently people have turned their attention to social location applications such as FourSquare and Gowalla. Using either a web browser or the native mobile applications, which are currently available for the iPhone, Blackberry, Google Android and the Palm series, business today is being rated and reviewed in real time.

This kind of social media technology system has been primarily targetted at businesses such as cafes, bars and restaurants, but is certainly not limited. It presents new opportunities for business owners to increase customer loyalty and also gain a better understanding of their audience demographics.

Examples of how this technology is already being used by business

The most common way business is currently using the system is by offering rewards to promote customer loyalty. Some cafes, instead of running coupons and vouchers, are offering a free meal to the person who checks into that location the most during that particular week. Others are offering this reward on the number of times they have checked in, for instance: "Foursquare says you've been here 10x? That's a free drink for you!"

There is also potential for advertising through social location sharing. For example, I go into a restaurant and check in - because the system knows my location I might get a notification about a drink special that is running at the bar up the street. This advertising might prompt me to go there after dinner to have a few drinks and check it out.

Examples of how this technology is already being used by consumers

I go into restaurant ABC and open up my iPhone. Using the inbuilt GPS the device already knows where I am and instantly tells me exactly how many other people have visited this venue. I can also see just how many people have left a comment on their experience. I can then get instant feedback as to what other people think of the service or quality. If 200 people have been there and 40 people said they had a bad experience I may choose to go elsewhere. This tool allows me to find hidden venues near that location that I might not know about, which have been given great ratings.

Location sharing is still an experimental platform but it's building in numbers. I believe the participation levels of this technology will increase exponentially over the next 12 to 24 months and it is essential that business owners in these markets keep a close eye on these types of social media.

Benjamin Nicoll is a founding partner of GoDigital Media, one of Australia's best value digital media agencies, which provides up-to-date, affordable products and services for SMEs.