Using Foursquare in your business
I have been using foursquare for couple of weeks now. Foursquare is like a social game where people compete to hold most mayorships, and badges. I have posted couple of screenshots from the foursquare Android app. Their Wiki page provides a good overview of the service.
Foursquare is a web and mobile application that allows registered users to connect with friends and update their location. Points are awarded on weekends and non-business hours for "checking in" at venues. Users can choose to have their Twitter and/or their Facebook accounts updated when they check in. In version 1.3 of their iPhone application, Foursquare enabled push-notification of friend updates, which they call "Pings." Users can also earn badges by checking in at locations with certain tags or for check-in frequency.[3] The company has stated that users will be able to add their own custom badges to the site in the future. If a user has checked-in to a venue more than anyone else, on separate days, and they have a profile photo, they will be crowned "Mayor" of that venue, until someone else earns the title by checking in more times than the previous mayor.[4] Users can create a "To Do" list for their private use and add "Tips" to venues that other users can read, which serve as suggestions for great things to do, see or eat at the location.[5]
Highlighted here are couple of ways your business can use foursquare (From brainwoo article by Katie.)
- Rewards for check-ins and Mayors: Decide on your offer, promote it via Twitter, Facebook, your Web site, signage, etc., and train your employees to approve eligibility by checking customers’ mobile devices.
- Make your most loyal customers feel special: Hold an event for the people who frequent your business the most, or offer them a special discount. Let them know they are appreciated.
- Encourage customers to come back: If someone was Mayor of your business in January, but then had no check-ins in February, send them an offer to come back.
- Fill your business on a slow night: If Tuesdays are typically a slow time for your business, offer a check-in special, or a discount to the first person to become Mayor.
- Sponsor the leaderboard: Foursquare’s leaderboard shows the people who have earned the most points in a city that week. Foursquare recently opened it up to sponsorship. Check out what they were able to do with Pepsi – how could your brand benefit from sponsoring such an increasingly valuable piece of real estate?
- Word-of-mouth marketing: Foursquare works with Twitter and Facebook, meaning one check-in at your restaurant could be potentially viewable to thousands via users’ social networks.
- Customer loyalty building/reward: Businesses can track customers’ visits, and can easily reward their most frequent customers. Foursquare promotes business’ “Mayor Specials,” specials for those who visit an establishment the most.
- Recommendations from your best customers: Foursquare users can add “tips” about places, such as what to try on the menu or the best day to visit. These tips are available to anyone who checks in to your business, or even if they are close to your business.
- The sky’s the limit: Right now, creativity is the name of the game. If you can think of a way to use Foursquare to promote your business, it’s probably possible. If not, Foursquare is willing to work with you on your ideas.
