How to Use Foursquare to Promote Your Business
Picture this: You own a restaurant, and people literally compete to see who can spend the most time in your establishment. They are recommending your best menu items to friends, and telling the world via Twitter and Facebook every time they walk through your door. And, you can track where they are coming from, where else they’ve been and what time of day they like to visit.
Dreaming? Nope. All of this and more is possible through Foursquare, just one of several geo-tagging applications that are attracting mobile users by the thousands, and filling bars, restaurants, hotels and coffee shops around the country.
So how do you tap into this community of potential customers for your business? First, let’s go over what Foursquare is.
What is Foursquare?
Foursquare is a location-based social media game. Foursquare users “check-in” to places via mobile apps for iPhone, Android and Blackberry. Check-ins earn users points, and the person who visits a location the most becomes “Mayor” of that place (until someone else comes along and wins the title). Users earn badges for checking into interesting places, determined by the Foursquare tagging system.
Foursquare is one of several geo-tagging applications. And, the world of location-based gaming and marketing just got bigger: Facebook announced today that it will allow its more than 400 million users to start sharing location next month.
Benefits for Businesses
Foursquare announced today that it will soon reveal a set of analytic tools for businesses, allowing businesses to track real-time data on customers. Until then, there are still major benefits to be found for businesses on Foursquare:
- 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.
How can businesses use Foursquare?
- 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. Or, do what AJ Bombers did and play on users’ desire for hard-to-get badges. (See video below).
- 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?
There are countless ways to promote your business via Foursquare and other location-based applications. My advice? Dive in and get started. Like Twitter before it, Foursquare is best understood by participating in it.
And stay tuned. The opportunities for marketers are exploding right now. Check back here often for more discussion of location-based marketing.
What are your ideas for using Foursquare and applications like it to promote your business? Leave them in the comments below.
Katie,
Nice post, but I am curious about how effective foursquare can be used for businesses in large cities that don't necessarily have many tech savvy citizens. A marketing friend of mine wrote a blog about how geo-social is the new hot marketing trend for businesses. http://ow.ly/1h97x He lives in Washington, DC and of course there is a smart phone (or two) for every person and many actively use applications such as foursquare. Do you have any insight as to how well this application is doing in Memphis in particular? Are there any local businesses that have seen the returns like in other cities? Just curious how our city fairs to other large cities.
Hi Erin,
Thanks for your interest. I agree with your friend Jared at Marketing Diner that there are concerns to think about when it comes to location-based marketing. However, the benefits for businesses are tremendous, and growing. Of course, these sorts of applications are always going to have early adopters, and spread to a wider audience after that. While I don't have specific numbers on how many people in Memphis are using Foursquare, I have anecdotal insight on businesses - such as bars and restaurants - that have given away discounts to Mayors or promoted specials via Foursquare, and been successful.
Another thing to think about- Facebook announced Tuesday that it is going to start allowing geo-tagging for all of its 400 million plus members next month (some are seeing the rollout now). In Memphis, there are roughly 400,000 people over the age of 18 that are considered active Facebook users. This geo-tagging technology will be at their fingertips soon, so even if they aren't on Foursquare or Gowalla - the big geo-social applications - the technology will be available to them.
I think it is up to businesses to push geo-social applications. If consumers think they are missing out on a discount or other opportunity, they will be more likely to log-in and check out a geo-tagging site. I think the allure of being “part of the club” is a big way this type of marketing is going to grow, specifically in cities that may not have as many tech-savvy individuals.
Last but not least, I think many would argue Memphis is pretty tech-savvy! We're all over the social networks, we have some of the highest rated hospitals and research facilities in the country, and we're in the running for Google Fiber. Memphis knows how to turn technology into profit, and location-based marketing is just another great way to do that.
I am glad to hear businesses in Memphis are putting foursquare to use and reaping the rewards. I agree with you that Memphis is savvy, but think geo-location or "geo-social" is going to take a year or so to really become mainstream on here. And after what you say with Facebook, it may be sooner. All good news! Thanks!
Hi Katie, Thanks for this summary. Very helpful. Anyone know of an easy way to find users in your city? Thanks.
Hi Brian,
Thanks! One easy way to find users in your city is to just start playing with Foursquare (and the other similar tools). When you sign up, you'll have the option to find your friends through e-mail and other social sites. See how many of your friends are in there, and by doing so, you'll see friends of friends. It's a great informal way to start to build your network. Then, make sure your business has a profile in Foursquare, and that it's updated and has as much info as possible. Last, set up an offer for your business through Foursquare and track who responds. You'll get an idea pretty quickly where your local user-base is, and how active they are. Their interaction with your profile can also spur movement among their friends, growing your base.
If your business is active in other social media networks, like Twitter and Facebook, ask your customers, "Hey, are you on Foursquare? How would you like to see us use it?" It's a great way to value your existing fans, and you'll be amazed at the useful responses you get. After all, you want to use Foursquare in a way that works for your customers - and what better way to do that then go right to the source.
Hope this helps. Let me know what you end up doing, and how it works for you!
