Foursquare Fact Sheet

Foursquare Fact Sheet: Answer to retention

People used to dismiss Twitter and Facebook and say “It’s just a fad.” But with nearly 10 million Australians on Facebook and 2.5 million Twitterers, they are not going anywhere. So then is Foursquare a passing trend or is it here to stay?

I believe whether it is Foursquare, Facebook’s new Places or even Google’s Buzz, location based social media is here to stay and it is an awesome platform for any business to be involved with! In fact, location based platforms are the next big thing because of the ease of access for millions of Aussies with phones that allow internet access.

What are location-based platforms?

As smart phones, laptops and iPads continue to grow in popularity, as does people’s desire to tell their friends what they are doing, these platforms through the GPS locator in your portable device allow you to ‘check-in’ to a variety of locations.

You may ask why and we’ll answer that shortly.

These platforms allow more of people’s on-line community to share their location, ideas, recommendations and opinions for all to see via their mobile device.

What is Foursquare?

This is just one of the platforms that are available and in my opinion it is the best.

Although with only 60,000 Australians on Foursquare, the impact is currently minimal but should it explode like Facebook, the impact of businesses could be profound.

From the Foursquare website it is “a cross between a friend-finder, a social city-guide and a game that rewards you for doing things.”

When you go to a location, which can be an already registered location or you can register one instantly, you ‘check-in.’ This means you go the application on your phone and press the button ‘Check-in’ on your screen. When you do this you gain points. And one goal could be to gain the most points in a week compared to your friends.

Here is my profile page:

Why do I think it is so cool?

You score points every time you ‘check-in’, so Foursquare allows you to compete with your friends.

Based on the points you score, you are also rewarded. For example, I am the “Mayor” of several locations, indicating I have visited them the most of all Foursquare users. I even once unlocked the ‘Swarm’ badge as I was the 50^th person to check into that location. Instant reward and recognition!

You can share comments and tips on products and services.

These can either be positive or negative leading to extra business:

In fact, what I think is super cool is when you check in, you may get a tip for a nearby business. For example, when I check in to my ANZ bank branch (for which I am the Mayor) I get a tip of a café nearby that serves great Eggs Benedict – as recommended by a friend on Foursquare. Very powerful marketing tool!

Foursquare can be linked to your other social media applications, like Twitter and Facebook in the set up of you account:

Why is this so cool? It means you are updating not just one area, but more importantly your Facebook friends will see this on your Facebook wall. And why is this important, well this is best explained by a comment made by one of my Facebook friends at a recent BBQ: “WOW. You have been going to the gym heaps. I have seen it on Facebook! I didn’t realise you were a member of Fitness First.”.

Mayorship is the key

Taken from the Mashable site: “Mayorship is key. Should you check-in at the same location a few times, you’ll become the mayor of that spot, and though it sounds silly in theory, in practice it’s incredibly sticky. Being mayor is pretty nifty, and you might find yourself trying to actively maintain your power, which is good for your game stats, good for that business, and great for creating competition amongst friends.”

I am hooked on staying the Mayor of the gym I go to, the park I train at with my personal trainer and even the bank I go to. Call me competitive but it is driving me to work out consistently!

The Problems

• You have to check in! You cannot automate the check in process which can be a pain.
• Businesses still haven’t embraced the platform and there is only a handful who offer Mayorship specials or other deals for using Foursquare.
• Just because you’re the Mayor doesn’t mean you have been there more than anyone else; you’re just the only person within a small population of technology nerds that said you were.
• Facebook’s new application Places could kill off new people joining Foursquare.
• Not enough people are using Foursquare.

Why Is It Good For Business?

The simple answer is that you can put a ‘special’ when you register your place of business. This means when anyone checks in nearby to your business, a green box pops up indicating a special is nearby. This special can change daily and can help drive people to your front door – great lead generation activity!

Here is a great example of rewarding the Mayor and thus creating a competition:

The Marsh cafe in San Francisco — now this is genius — they’ve put up signs indicating that the Foursquare Mayor drinks for free. Think about it. The competition elements of the game mean that they’ve just manufactured a social contest like no other. They’ll get intense mayoral battles, which means more frequent check-ins, and a grip of free online exposure.

And not to be out done look at what 24 Hour Fitness has done:

And this month Foursquare released their program called Health Month where you try to unlock the Health Badge. Check it out here

Last month McDonalds, ran a one day campaign where they increased foot traffic into their restaurants by 33%! They promoted that 100 random diners would receive either a $5 or $10 gift card when they checked in. And what a promotion with a huge increase in foot traffic.

What to do now?

Think about the endless possibilities for your business if you could teach your customers, clients or members to be part of the Foursquare challenge.

To find out how you can maximise Foursquare for your business, come along to FitnessBiz this November when Justin will share his thoughts on how this application can improve retention.