For those unaware, Foursquare is a location-based social networking utility for mobile phones. Users of Foursquare “check in” at any establishment around their city or neighborhood, often adding comments about their experience or tips on the best items at that place. Other Foursquare users in the same area can then use each others comments and tips to their advantage when going out for food or drinks. As an example, a newcomer to Brooklyn might notice several Foursquare users checking in a particular coffee shop, and recommending the “house latte.” He or she might then decide to check the place out and try the user-endorsed brew. Foursquare exists primarily to encourage pedestrians to publish whatever local gems they find the benefit of everyone living in the area.
Telegraph says that the popularity of the the service is surging, reporting that “US visits to Foursquare increased by 50 per cent between December and January, and were up 200 per cent overall since November.” When the service first began in March of last year, it was only available in a few cities worldwide including New York, London, and Amsterdam. As the user base grew, so did the locations, and now users of the service can check in anywhere in the world. Not surprisingly, businesses began to see this as a good opportunity to spread the word about their establishments. Since the comments from local users have the power to bring in new customers, it seems logical for local establishments to encourage Foursquare users to check in at their businesses. There are now several frequently practiced strategies that businesses are using to drive sales from Foursquare.
Foursquare Specials Program
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Local businesses who want to use Foursquare to market their businesses must first sign up for Foursquare’s specials program. Upon joining, the business agrees to offer specials and discounts for Foursquare users who frequent their establishment, and Foursquare in turn helps to promote the business to every user in its surrounding area. “In our iPhone and mobile web app, we call attention to venues who offer special treatment to Foursquares users. If a foursquare user is at your bar/restaurant, we’ll tell them what they have to do to unlock a free snack or discounted drink,” says Foursquare, regarding their specials program. “If they happen to be across the street or two blocks away from your venue, we’ll let them know that your business gives special treatment to foursquare users and that they should swing by for a visit.”
Businesses vary in the specials they choose to offer Foursquare users, but the idea is always the same: reward those who spread the word about your business. Some businesses even offer free rewards to customers checking in for the very first time. Presumably this act encourages more Foursquare users to stop in, and hopefully become repeat customers. Maria Baugh, owner of a local bakery in the East Village of New York City, employs this strategy with success. “We like the type of customer who uses Foursquare,” she says. “Generally they’re engaged and lively and they’re great ambassadors for Butter Lane.”[We offer] treats for first-time check-ins. Checking in for the first time? Hey, your first beer/soda/side of fries is on us.”
The Mayor
I took this on Valencia St, in San Francisco
Becoming a “mayor” on Foursquare is a highly sought distinction that allots users some very nice benefits. When a user checks in at a particular location, he or she is deemed the mayor of that location on Foursquare, and businesses are often willing to offer free meals or drinks to this individual. Businesses often find that they can spark competition for these specials by putting a announcing a special offer on a social networking platform, such as Twitter or Facebook. Often, something as simple as “Mayor of Black Bear Pub drinks free!” is enough to have many users start coming to the establishment more often in an effort to become mayor.
Ultimately, these people might spend more at the business trying to win mayor than they will save once they get they mayor’s prize, but the distinction of winning is enough to fuel the competition. Associated Content reports that this competition can sometimes get quite intense. “In some metropolises with a high geek and mobile phone rat population the competition to become Mayor can get heated, especially on the public transportation systems in San Fransisco and New York. Numerous Foursquarers find themselves battling it out in a friendly competition for the Mayor status as they commute on the rail cars or subway of both cities. Even the public transportation companies in certain cities are encouraging the use of Foursquare as it bolsters the amount of riders on their mass transit, which is great for the environment and mass transit.”
The Badges and Points
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Foursquare allows users to earn special “badges” for accomplishing various missions on Foursquare, and some businesses have begun to offer incentives to those who earn badges beneficial to their establishment. Perhaps the best example of such a badge is the “Swarm Badge,” in which a user brings a big group of people to a certain establishment and gets them all to check in on Foursquare when they get there. Though the badge only requires that the user gets fifty people to show up and check in, reports of far greater feats have begun surfacing. SNASM told the story of a Milwaukee burger restaurant who bit off more than they could chew by trying to earn this badge.
They promoted an event at the restaurant through social media channels, encouraging Foursquare users to come and check in, just for the fun of the competition. Business boomed that night as over 150 people turned out to check in at AJ Bombers.
The event was a huge boost for the burger joint, who reported a 30% increase in sales of a particular food item ever since the event. “We’ve seen a very noticeable uptick in business via our use of foursquare,” says restaurant owner Joe Sorge. “Specifically, we’ve found that we can drive the sales of specific items via our venue page and our guest made recommendations there.”
Another popular foursquare badge is the “local” badge, which indicates that you’ve been at a particular place three times in one week. Some especially generous businesses offer discounts to winners of these sorts of badges for being such consistent, loyal customers of their establishment. There are many other badges for various achievements on Foursquare, and the more business a particular badge brings an establishment, the more likely it is that they will reward users who win it.
Foursquare also issues its users points for every check in they make and badge they earn. All points earned by users in a particular city are added together and posted to that city’s letterboard. Some especially generous organizations have begun using this point system as a way to raise money for charity. Participating companies assign a dollar amount for every point and will donate that amount for every point their city’s letterboard racks up during the promotional period. In December of last year, Change.org reported that Pepsi became the first company to sponsor a charity in this way. “Pepsi’s sponsorship means that for every point that people in New York City get this week, Pepsi will donate $0.04 to CampInteractive, a program to empower inner city youth with technology and mentoring programs,” Change.org explained. Foursquare capped the donation at $10,000 to prevent things from getting too out of hand.
Foursquare Business Dashboard
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Foursquare has recently developed a great software tool for businesses to actually track and analyze the activity of users at their establishment. The software allows owners to collect data on total check ins, unique visitors and repeat customers, empowering owners to truly measure the effectiveness of their social media marketing efforts. In addition, the dashboard is able to make distinctions between male and female visitors by referencing the users’ account information when they check in.The Foursquare business dashboard also allows owners to track who their top customers (mayors and the few under them) so that they can easily hold contests and determine winners without any disputes.
One of the most interesting features of the dashboard is its social media publishing capability. The software will show owners which of their customers published Foursquare check-ins and comments to other social networking sites, such as Twitter and Facebook. By tracking this data, business owners can ger a firm grasp on the ripple effect their social exposure might be creating. All data in the dashboard can be viewed in various time-frame modes, including 30-60-90 day options.
The New York Times commented on the impact this software is likely to have on modern small businesses, saying “Business owners will also be able to offer instant promotions to try to engage new customers and keep current ones,” and, “there will also be a Staff page available to each business that will allow employees to interact directly with customers using social networks.” If social media keeps growing at its current rate, we are sure to see such services as Foursquare begin to shape the way small businesses interact with their customers.
