Foursquare: It’s not just a kid’s game anymore
Posted July 27th, 2010If you own or run a business, you’re probably familiar with the benefits of adding a social media element to your marketing mix. Until now, facebook, twitter and LinkedIn were staples for a web-savvy business. Now Foursquare is making its case to be a contender in the crowded world of social networks. So what is it?
Foursquare is part social network, part coupon and part game. The goal is for consumers to “check-in” (think login or register) at a particular site via a smart phone application. Badges (think trophies) can be earned for meeting certain requirements and then you can show them off to all your friends.
“That’s great,” you say, “but how does this help my business?” Foursquare also has microblogging capabilities. Users can post tips and reviews for future “check-ins” to read. Think of it this way: the average facebook user has 130 friends and foursquare allows users to post their current location’s onto facebook and twitter. So for everyone person that checks in to your business they can potentially talk to hundreds more over various social media outlets. That’s pretty powerful stuff. Make a great roast beef sandwich or have a great deal on jeans and suddenly 200 people know about it. It’s word-of-mouth advertising in the 21st century.
The other great aspect about using foursquare for business is the “Specials” feature. With a few clicks of a mouse and a quick automated phone call you can “claim” a business as your own. From there you can post foursquare specific specials for customers. Something like, “for every 5 check-ins get 50% off your order.” This is a great way to reward loyalty to your business… and don’t forget that for each customer you draw, hundreds more could potentially be watching. Specials are customizable and can be taken down at any time. The downside is only one special can be run at a time and they need to be approved by foursquare ahead of time.
As with any new social media tool, foursquare isn’t perfect… but used correctly it can be a great, simple marketing tool for your business.
Foursquare is improving all the time. It recently went past 2 million users and 100 million individual check ins. Interestingly the CEO Dennis Crowley has decided not to take up Yahoo’s recent offer of $125m USD but continue to develop along its own path.
The next 6 months will be an interesting time for the start up.
I agree Robert. Hopefully the newness doesn’t wear off. It will be interesting to see how businesses change their tune to asking for new check-ins to how they treat not just mayors, but folks who may have checked in multiple times.