Is Your Business Taking Advantage of Foursquare?

If you have a smart phone and/or frequent Social Networking sites you might have heard about Foursquare.

Most people who use this service are using it from a consumer standpoint. They check in, they post to their social networking profiles and they talk about the location. In a previous post I even talked about why this is important and how as consumers we can help local businesses by using this free service.

As the owner of the business being posted about (as long as you have made them happy…) activity on Foursquare is wonderful FREE advertising for you. So you definitely want to encourage “checking in” at your location or event.

The first step is to make sure your business is listed in the Foursquare list. A lot of places are already listed, but not all. And users are allowed to add locations. It would be MUCH better if you create your own listing. If you create the listing you can make sure it is right and make sure all of the information is complete and correct.

The next step is to “claim” your listing. There is a link on every listing that says “Are you the Manager of this business?”. By clicking on this link you will be able to go through their process to claim your location. They have a process they use to prove that it is really yours.

Once you claim your location you will now have the ability to make a special offer to Foursquare users. This is where the encouraging your customers to use the system comes in.

You can give a special if someone comes in and checks in and shows your sales team their phone showing the check in. Foursquare has a built in game component where people that check in somewhere the most are dubbed “The Mayor” of that location. Some places give their “Mayor” special discounts or even something for free. I have seen places offering their “Mayors” a free appetizer or a free drink or a free dessert.

The key is to make it worth their while to talk about your business.

Once you have set up your specials on Foursquare anyone who checks in anywhere in the area will see your special pop up. They will know that you offer a special to Foursquare users. People love discounts! There are places that I go purely because they have discount offers.

Some businesses even post signs in their shops reminding people to check in. This is great because loyal customers may sign up for accounts and start checking in just to help spread the word about their favorite hang out. And people who are already active will be reminded to check in so they get their points (if you don’t know what points are, don’t worry )

And remember, the discounts, free offers and signs encouraging people to check in do not “cost money”. Think of them as advertising costs. You are basically paying your customers to advertise your business. And again there is nothing better than word of mouth.

We have all heard it. In business if you can get your customers saying good things about you to this friends and family then you are golden. This provides what is called social proof in the marketing world. The whole mentality of “If so and so likes if I am sure I will”.

And since this program is tied in to Twitter and Facebook (the two largest social networking sites available) you instantly get WAY more word of mouth than you will ever get from your customers actually talking about you.

I personally might only SEE and talk to in person of on the phone a handful of people each week. But I am “friends” with over 2000 people online between my profiles, pages and accounts. Now not all of those people are your prospective customers, but maybe one of them knows someone who is.

Viral marketing at it’s best.

It is kind of another one of those “Don’t fight them, join them” situations. I can’t count the number of businesses in my area that I have added to Foursquare in the last few weeks. I also run into places that have 2, 3, or more entries in the list when I go check in and none of them are complete and some of them are just wrong.

Wouldn’t it be better to register and at least make sure you are in the system, that your contact information is right (and complete) and that your business is listed in the right categories and the right “tags” have been applied?

Do you have a Brick and Morter business? Have you made sure your business’ listing in Foursquare is complete and accurate (or even there)? Can you think of a creative way to encourage your customers to spread the word about you using Foursquare? Share your thoughts below, we would love to hear them….

About The Author:
Cindy Clemens is a mom, author, speaker, marketing consultant and Co-Founder of Your Marketing University. Her goal is to teach marketing in a simple easy to understand format that businesses can use to help gain marketing ideas & market their businesses to boost sales.

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