New Marketing tool of 2011 1: Foursquare

This post was last edited by Alex Cohen, on the January 18, 2011 @ 3:38 pm

Many of you will have already read that location based services are set to be big in 2011. The challenge is how we can turn the excitement of a shiny new trend into something useful that produces data we can analyse and act on. So, here at Xander Marketing, we have put together a brief guide to Foursquare and have given a few examples of how it can be used as part of your marketing strategy for 2011.

What is Foursquare?

Foursquare is a location based game that asks players to use their mobile to ‘check-in’ at locations they visit throughout their day. Users receive points every time they check-in and can share their check in’s with friends they connect with on Foursquare and on their Facebook and Twitter accounts. When players complete certain tasks within Foursquare they are awarded badges; these are displayed on their profile page. And, if a player is checks in the most at a certain venue then they will become the mayor of that place, meaning that their profile picture and name will be displayed to everyone who checks into that venue.

How can you use Foursquare?

The list below is just a taster of what you can do, just speak to us if you have an idea of how else you’d like to use Foursquare

Offer discounts and promotions to people who check in
Offer discount codes to those who check into your business or a nearby location in order to bring business in. This is a really low cost way of acquiring customers; McDonalds recently gave away a giftcard to every person who checked in on Foursquare on a specific day. The campaign cost them just $1000 to create and resulted in a 33% increase in footfall.

Find your brand advocates
When users check in they are also able to leave a comment about where they are. Take a look at these comments to get an honest view of how your brand is perceived. Foursquare also offers location owners a whole host of data about check-ins related to their business.

Reward Loyalty
Starbucks did this really successfully when they rewarded mayors of each branch with the chance to get $1 off their coffee every day. As well as gaining a load of press coverage, this promotion incentivised people to check into Starbucks in the hope of becoming the next mayor, thus increasing the number of mentions Starbucks got in people’s news feeds and increasing interaction with the brand.

Link up with complimentary brands
If you own a product then you may want to offer exclusive versions or samples to people who check in at a relevant location e.g. if your product is a moisturiser targeted at men you may want to offer them a sample when they check in at a particular gym or hairdressing chain. This will increase product trail and awareness of your brand amongst the target market.

Still keen to find out more? Download our comprehensive guide or give us a call and we’ll talk you through how you can use Foursquare to improve your business.

Tags: foursquare