Foursquare For Business

Have you heard of Foursquare yet? If you haven’t then you probably should, it is a growing smart-phone social network of over 8 million users. Chances are, some of your target audience is already using Foursquare.

What Is Foursquare?

Foursquare is a location-based application that is built for smartphones. It has grown to be the second largest location-based application behind Facebook Places. How it works is when a Foursquare user arrives at a location (dry cleaners, restaurant, park, entertainment venue, etc) that user checks into that location which broadcasts a message to their circle of Foursquare friends stating where they just checked in at.  Points are awarded for various activities — checking in, making multiple stops in a day, adding a new venue, making a repeat visit, or checking in on consecutive days and others. These points have no value, badges are awarded for achieving certain goals, and “Mayorships” are awarded to the most frequent visitor at any location.

Foursquare benefits both the user and the business. The reason is that customers want to be recognized, and businesses want to know who their loyal fans are. Customers can give tips about a restaurant or a business and businesses have the capabilities to offer “specials” or perks to their Foursquare fan base by offering them discounts or gifts for checking-in to their location. it is a great way for a business to promote themselves within the smart-phone mobile market.

Businesses Can Offer Specials While Consumers Give Tips

Foursquare Business Specials

Facebook offers the merchant a wide range of specials at its disposal it can offer its customers. With the release of Foursquare 3.0 – Businesses now have 7 different merchant platforms to choose from for specials and promotions.

  1. Swarm Special. A special is unlocked when a certain number of people are checked in. For example, an ice cream store can give away a free scoop of ice cream when 10 people are checked in at once.
  • Friends Special. A reward for when friends check in together. You can specify how many friends need to be checked in and what they receive for being checked in.
  • Flash Special. A special for the first X amount of people who come at X time. It’s a great way to incentivize customers to stop by during your slow hours.
  • Newbie Special. A reward for people who check in to your business for the first time. Offering a reward for a user’s first check-in — even if it’s a small one, like 10% off or a free side dish — is a great way to start a relationship with a new customer.
  • Check-In Special. This is the easiest special because it rewards a user for every single check-in. Restaurants can offer a free soda or a discount, while retailers might offer a percentage off a purchase.
  • Loyalty Special. An example of this is rewarding a user’s third, fifth, seventh, etc. check-in.
  • Mayor Special. The mayor is the person who has checked into a venue more than anyone else. In theory, he or she is your best and most loyal customer. As such, he deserves a prize, whether it’s a discount, a free t-shirt, a meal on the house, etc. Mayors tend to be proud and protective of their Mayorship, and you might even see some turf wars when the Mayorship changes hands.

Foursquare Strategies For Businesses

  1. Encourage Your Foursquare Users To Check-in At Your Location.
  2. Offer Discounts For Users Who Check-in At Your Location.
  3. Ask Your Users To Post Reviews About Your Business.
  4. Make The “Mayorship” A Contest And Give That Person A Special Perk.
  5. Promote A Special For First Time Customers
  6. Plan An Around Foursquare
  7. Monitor Your Customers. Who Are They?
  8. Review Your Foursquare Analytics For Trends

Are you ready to start using Foursquare for your business? If so then contact the Conversion Pipeline Online Marketing team to get started.