An effective social networking opportunity

F The fairly new but quickly growing social networking site, Foursquare.com is making quite an impact on the web. Entrepreneurs and small business owners are quickly learning how to use Foursquare for business, and are starting to target a lot of their marketing efforts toward using this fancy new online tool. Businesses – especially retail stores, restaurants and bars – are experiencing the enjoyed revenue impact because of the exposure and brand referral business that they see as a result. 

What is Foursquare.com?

The social networking service Foursquare.com is location-based and can be used on a desktop, but is more efficient and more frequently used on Smartphones. It gives those on your friends list your check-in location and lets users track where their friends are at any given time.

Games are also involved with the service and users can earn points based on their traffic activity to a venue. The users earn points if they frequent the establishment enough and are bestowed titles if they are some of the persons with the highest points. This game attraction and the social networking atmosphere that is created through the application is the primary reason to use Foursquare for business purposes and to increase business exposure.

Company?s can use Foursquare for business in several beneficial ways:

To Increase Business

Stores and restaurants can offer specials and discounts for customers who check-in at their location on a pre-determined basis. For instance, a business may decide to give away a free cup of latte to the first 10 customers who check-in at their location every Monday morning before 10:00 a.m. This can be a very attractive marketing pitch and very appealing to customers who may be occasional customers in an effort to make them regulars.

~

As Meeting Places

Businesses can promote their establishment as the perfect meeting place for customers for concerts, corporate events or even smaller, more informal meetings. When the users check-in on their Smartphones, it will alert their friends list of their location and likely attract even more people to the event. This works especially well with large, public events, especially at night clubs, entertainment venues and bars, and brings the business more opportunities for sales and exposure.

Preparing to Use Foursquare.com for Business

When companies decide to use Foursquare for business, they should prepare the business for an influx of customers and be ready to interact with them socially. This is important with this service since it is a social networking service, but also because interaction brings the business exposure.

Some things that the business can do to prepare include:

– Signing up for Foursquare

In order for the business to have an impact on the Foursquare community, they need to be a part of it. After signing up, interact with it, check-in often and even visit other places of business to show that you?re involved and active in the business community.

– Offer enticing discounts and specials

This doesn?t mean that they have to be high-priced items or services, but offer anything that would be of value to the customers. A small percentage off their purchase, a free item with purchase or anything that would associate your business with the item are ideal in marketing and creating a brand image in their minds.

To use Foursquare for business places a company right inside the hub of what?s happening around town both socially and from a business perspective. Their involvement in this tool shows that they?re connected with the community and interested in attracting customers in a fun, new way.

– Order collateral materials

Foursquare provides window stickers and other promotional materials. You can print tent cards, flyers and add the Foursquare logo to your website to encourage your patrons to “check in” whenever they patronize your business.

References:
Forum and Support for Using Foursquare for a Business
5 Ways to Leverage Foursquare for Businesses