Foursquare is a location-based application that works on the iphone, android and blackberry smart phones. It brings a game aspect and some competition into the mix and you can use that to your benefit as a small business in regards to how you market yourself locally. I’ll tell you how you can use it for free marketing and promotion as well.
First and foremost, Foursquare promotes exploration around town and trying out new venues. You can open the app, see what is around your current location, if there are any specials nearby and what those are, and you can see if any of your friends are checked-in at any of those locations. You can see if a place is trending (quite a bit of checkins in a short amount of time) and how many people are there. Think popularity. Foursquare has badges that one can “unlock” for certain accomplishments, say if they visit 5 different Starbuck’s they unlock the “Barista badge”. There is also a “Leaderboard” as you receive points for checking in and for visiting multiple venues in a day.
What do badges and leaderboards mean to you as a business?
Ego. People have one. Competition. People like to win. This means that people are already playing this game and checking into your business whether you’re currently aware of it or not. This means that there is a game, external from your knowledge, that is essentially tracking and awarding your customers for frequenting your venue.
The next magic part is that Foursquare will dub the most frequently visiting player a “Mayor” of that location. Somebody could quite possibly be the Mayor of your venue right now.
What does Mayorship mean to your business?
Again, think of the game – people like to win. Ergo people start to try and oust the Mayor so they can be in that spot. Being the Mayor is like having bragging rights. Whoever comes to your business can see who the Mayor is, click on their profile, friend them, etc. Mayorships and the oustings get posted publicly to twitter (most people have their account hooked to twitter and sometimes to their Facebook wall as well) with your business name and a link to your business’ profile page on foursquare.com. (Example: CK’s Tavern & Grill)
In addition to that, visitors can announce their arrival and/or “shout” that they’re at a location and again your business name and profile link will be posted along with anybody else’s username that has checked in recently (slide 4). In addition to all of that, people can leave “tips” and “todo’s” for other visitors that will literally ‘pop-up’ when they check in at your location. “Try the buffalo wings with ranch, best in town” or “Friday fish fry is awesome” or “Best tax prep in town and excellent service”. Think short reviews. And why are those good? Read the SEO Benefits section below to learn why!
Some Stats about Foursquare
At the time of my talk, Foursquare had been around for just about 1-year. In one year, they’ve obtained about 600,000 users (now they’re getting very close to breaking 1 Million users), have over 16 Million checkins, have over 1.4 Million venues in the database (all created by users mind you). That’s fairly impressive no? Out of the over 1.4 Million venues, only about 1200 venues have special offers. Really? Can you say “Opportunity“?
People love playing the game, and less than 1% of businesses are seizing the opportunity to entice those users into their place of business. And you’re spending how much on print ads that hardly convert?
SEO Benefits of Foursquare
Google maps and now Bing maps are showcasing Foursquare venues when people search locally. Again all without you spending a penny. Google is starting to use the tips and shouts from Foursquare venues for citations about your business. If you haven’t heard, citations are used in the rank algorithm. This is why Yelp and Google Local reviews are so powerful and sought after.
Foursquare venue pages are ranking in search results. It has your business name, address and again links to your Foursquare venue page which also has your phone number. Need I say more?
How Businesses get Involved with Foursquare
Simply put – goto Foursquare.com, and Search for your business. If you’re in there make sure your information is correct. There should be a little pencil icon under the info (once you have an account). This is like any site, you need to make sure your information is correct and that you’re represented properly.
Not listed on Foursquare.com? Add your business/venue at www.foursquare.com/add_venue
Start a Special Offer for your Business
Like I mentioned above, there is a great opportunity for businesses to get an offer on Foursquare and potentially be one of the only places in town offering a deal. Foursquare is still new, and people like exploring so if you’re one of the only places that shows you are on Foursquare and recognizing people’s enjoyment of the game and you basically say HI we have a special for you because you play Foursquare… And even if they’re close to you, a “Special Offer Nearby” tab will show up and upon clicking on that your offer will be visible. Tell me that’s not great!? Maybe you’re an ice cream shop next to a steak house – make an offer for “Free scoop with your Acme Steak receipt” or “25% off dessert every Friday, Saturday and Sunday night”. (make up whatever)
How? Goto www.foursquare.com/businesses and fill out that form – they’ll get back to you shortly. My experiences have proven they act fairly quickly.
New School Loyalty Rewards
The new dashboard present some great flexibility for business owners. Think of Foursquare as the 2010 version of the old school rewards punch card. You could offer rewards for tweeting 20 times while at the venue or even about the venue, or even a reward for bringing 10 friends in with you. Foursquare is working hard for local business; expect to see more coming in that regard.
Big Name Companies are already Adopting Foursquare
More and more companies are seeing the benefit in the many options Foursquare can provide and already Pepsi, the New York Times and Bravo network have jumped in and are working with it in different ways. In Las Vegas if you become the Mayor of the Miracle Mile Shops you’ll get your face and name on the 126-foot LED video screen. I don’t know about you but that would be fricking cool (yes I’m a geek and simple things make me happy – if at least for the photo opp).
So the question is how are YOU going to use Foursquare for local search marketing?
Source: rYnoweb
Foursquare is growing rapidly and it doesn’t take too much time and effort to start leveraging it now for your local business. A few ‘promotions’ and an updated business profile and you’re on your way.