• July 19

Foursquare, an Opportunity Not to be Missed.

Foursquare is fast becoming a popular social networking site with more than 700,000 “check-ins” each day. As networks like Foursquare gain popularity with users, we all start asking ourselves how we as businesses and brands can capitalize. Well, here’s a start.

If you don’t have a Profile on Foursquare, start one. Every business who is looking for foot traffic and repeat visitation should be on this community. Check Foursquare.com first to find out if your business is already listed. If it is, you can click “Claim Your Venue.” Don’t forget to promote your Foursquare presence inside your store or business. The web site offers downloadable PDFs and window clings for display. Essentially, users can access the business from their smart phone and “check-in” when they arrive. A user can see connected friends who may be at the same location or nearby, share and fine insider tips, coupons and ultimatly earn points. The more points a user earns, the more badges are received and the higher a status is met. The top point-receiver is crowned “Mayor.”

This engaging and competitive community is a brand driver. Users may not be aware that they have such an influence for others but they do. The goal of every user on Foursquare is to become Mayor of their favorite local businesses…restaurants, shops, bakeries, etc. Because a user must check in from the business itself, it requires a lot of frequent visitation. Nearly every business and brand is built on repeat visitation and brand loyalty. At the same time, businesses can reach out to Foursquare Mayors and frequent visitors with real rewards and discounts. You have the choice of whom to reach out to. Find that user that has a good amount of friends that can be encouraged to visit also. But don’t forget to save the best deals for the Mayor.

This Just In!! Twitter Places was just released allowing the ability to geo-tag tweets on the fly from a browser. Foursquare users can integrate their account with Twitter Places so when you click on a Twitter Place, you can also see check-ins. Twitter is also releasing an API functionality that lets developers integrate places into their applications. Even more reason to jump on Foursquare now if you haven’t already.

So, have you come up with a reason not to be on Foursquare yet?




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Comments

  1. Roxanne July 19th

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    Ideas on how a nonprofit that isn’t a “physical businesS” can benefit from foursquare..the example that was most popular involved smamming other locations visitors (not cool) ideas??


  2. Kristen Cruz July 26th

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    Unfortunately, FourSquare is not ideal for businesses that don’t benefit from foot traffic. If you don’t have a door for visitors to walk into, I would not recommend Four Square for your business. Targeting other locations visitors with your message is not a good strategy on Four Square (I agree).


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About Author

Kristen Cruz

Kristen Cruz, VP, Interactive Strategy at Jennifer Barbee Inc., has eight years experience in online web marketing and strategy in the travel and tourism industry. As a veteran expert in tactical online marketing efforts and behaviors, Kristen’s strategic approach to online marketing transforms typical web marketing tactics to deeply optimized and socially influenced pr and promotional efforts.