{"id":919,"date":"2010-11-04T09:00:50","date_gmt":"2010-11-03T23:00:50","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.razchorev.com\/?p=919"},"modified":"2010-11-04T09:00:50","modified_gmt":"2010-11-03T23:00:50","slug":"whats-the-deal-with-foursquare","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.razchorev.com\/newme\/whats-the-deal-with-foursquare\/","title":{"rendered":"What\u2019s the deal with foursquare?"},"content":{"rendered":"

B\"\"<\/a>efore you dismiss foursquare as just another social media application you couldn\u2019t possibly get your head around, we thought we\u2019d give you a run-down of what it\u2019s all about so you can decide if it\u2019s of any use to your business.<\/p>\n

What the heck is foursquare?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Foursquare is a mobile application for your phone that essentially is a \u2018social media game\u2019 but can actually be used to help your marketing efforts, especially if you work in retail or hospitality (more on this later).<\/p>\n

The idea is, whenever someone visits a location, like a particular shop or caf\u00e9, they \u2018check-in\u2019 to that location. The person, who \u2018checks in\u2019 to a certain location the most, becomes the \u2018mayor\u2019 of that place.<\/p>\n

Confused yet?<\/p>\n

Why would people use foursquare?<\/strong><\/p>\n

When someone \u2018checks in\u2019 to a location they can see if any of their friends have been there before, or are nearby at that time. You can use foursquare to give suggestions like \u2018If you\u2019re at X caf\u00e9, try the chocolate milkshakes, they\u2019re amazing.\u2019 Or if you\u2019ve checked into a shop you might receive a notification that a bar a street away has great, cheap pub meals.<\/p>\n

It becomes a fun, competitive game to become the \u2018mayor\u2019 of the most places possible.\u00a0 This is where businesses are jumping on board and offering incentives for people to come along to try and become the \u2018mayor\u2019 of their business.<\/p>\n

A coffee shop may offer free coffee to the person who becomes \u2018mayor\u2019 of their shop so it encourages people to remember to \u2018check in\u2019.<\/p>\n

Options for businesses<\/strong><\/p>\n

Not only can you encourage people to \u2018check in\u2019 to become the \u2018mayor\u2019 of your business but you may wish to offer deals to people to get them to \u2018check in\u2019 more regularly.<\/p>\n

For example, the 5th<\/sup> time someone \u2018checks\u2019 in to your clothes\u2019 shop they get a free scarf with their purchase, or the 3rd<\/sup> time they buy a sandwich from your takeaway shop they get a free drink.<\/p>\n

To get things rolling, you may even offer \u2018check in\u2019 deals for people the first time they \u2018check in\u2019 to your business on foursquare. There are also wildcard specials that your staff need to verify before the user can claim their prize.<\/p>\n

You can tailor these offers and start using foursquare to drive customers to your business and foster customer loyalty.<\/p>\n

Good tips<\/strong><\/p>\n

Foursquare is a great portal for customer feedback and word of mouth, as more people start using foursquare, more and more people will be checking to see if friends have visited your business previously and what they had to say about it. It\u2019s a good incentive for making sure your customer service is up to scratch.<\/p>\n

We also recommend having physical signage in your store to encourage people to remember to \u2018check in\u2019.<\/p>\n

Before jumping in and using foursquare, as with any marketing strategy, think about your objectives and what you want to achieve by being active on this social media. There is no point creating ad-hoc offers for your \u2018mayor\u2019 if you don\u2019t know why you\u2019re doing it.<\/p>\n

The early days<\/strong><\/p>\n

It\u2019s still early days in terms of where Australians are at with this social media application and there are bound to be updates and improvements over the next few months where we will see new opportunities for businesses outside of the retail\/hospitality sectors.<\/p>\n

So keep your eyes peeled for new information and as with all social media, the best way to understand it is to set up a personal account and learn as you go. Have fun!<\/p>\n

About the Author<\/strong><\/p>\n

Catriona Pollard is director of PR and social media agency, CP Communications<\/a> which provides specialist media, traditional and online PR strategies that achieve positive media coverage, increased brand awareness and improved sales results.<\/p>\n

Website: www.cpcommunications.com.au<\/a> Blog: www.PublicRelationsSydney.com.au<\/a> Twitter: http:\/\/twitter.com\/catrionapollard<\/a><\/p>\n

\"Social<\/a>