The online local business directory Yelp today announced that users of its iPhone app (and Android, soon) will be able to add video to their customer reviews. According to Yelp’s blog post, “These are not intended to be ‘video reviews,’ but rather an extension of the visual experience (of photos).”
Currently, Yelp users upload more than 23,000 photos a day to their reviews.
As noted on SmallBusiness.com last week, the place-based “check in” app FourSquare off-loaded its check-in feature to a new app called Swarm and repositioned its core brand and app to a product that will be more easily understood by consumers (and small business advertisers) to be an alternative to Yelp for local search (nearby shops, restaurants, pharmacies, etc.).
Today’s announcement from Yelp can be considered a return volley in such a battle over the local search advertising budgets of small businesses.