FourSquare and business: can everyone win in this game of profit?

FourSquare and businesses: can everyone win in this game of proﬁt? Ashlie K.Conway Social Media Club of Columbia, SC 2/11/2010 Librarian, U. of South Carolina Conwaya@mailbox.sc.edu

About: Foursquare aims to encourage people to explore their neighborhoods and then reward people for doing so. We do this by combining our friend-ﬁnder and social city guide elements with game mechanics - our users earn points, win mayorships and unlock badges for trying new places and revisiting old favorites. From http://foursquare.com/businesses/

Things to consider FourSquare is “Revolutionizing the very way we think about social media and turning it into a form of currency” [Think customer loyalty punch cards] From http://mashable.com/2010/01/16/foursquare-world/ “Foursquare bills itself as 50% friend ﬁnder, 30% social city guide, 20% nightlife game” From http://adage.com/digitalnext/post?article_id=138305

FourSquare Glossary: Check-in: telling FourSquare where you are via GPS or physical address Mayor: a person who visits a given place more than anyone else Badges: think of them like little trophies or rewards for going to interesting places Points: another reward/another way to compete against your friends. Tips: your recommendations to others To Dos: notes to yourself

Glossary continued... Shout: (optional) what you can say in addition to where you are Image by &y: http://www.ﬂickr.com/photos/smull/144407217/

Image by Irish Typepad: http://www.ﬂickr.com/photos/irisheyes/4307046459/ Beneﬁts to patrons/users

Lets you know popular spots Helps you make a connection & get rewards from businesses Explore places in your own community that you wouldn’t necessarily go to (to get rewards) Prepares you for places with special requirements (cash only) Helps you remember places you visit both at home & traveling

Beneﬁts to businesses

84% Of Americans say online reviews inﬂuence their purchasing decisions, according to a survey by the Opinion Research Corporation New York Times: http://nyti.ms/biFSbF

Business benefits: It’s a way to take the online, offline • Customers offer you constant exposure and word of mouth • Opens the door for new kinds of promotions to reward evangelists • Customer behavior is tracked, allowing habits to be identified and leveraged • It connects you with your digital evangelists, people who probably have a lot of clout in their circles From http://outspokenmedia.com/social-media/foursquare-divides-the-web/

Special mayor-only rewards are cropping up...and they’re creating customer loyalty battles that are good for regulars and great for businesses Develops a deeper connection between place and patron Get instant feedback...good customer reviews lead to new customers Can measure foot trafﬁc to a store, proving quantiﬁable ROI for an advertiser From http://mashable.com/2010/01/16/foursquare-world/ and New York Times: http://nyti.ms/biFSbF and http://adage.com/digitalnext/post?article_id=138305

We had lunch at E Leaven today, and when I checked in on Foursquare, I saw a competitor's coupon. It was the ﬁrst time this has happened to me, so I thought it was an E Leaven coupon (I've never heard of David Burke's Primehouse until now). When I showed it to my server...I had to explain what Foursquare is. She knew David Burke's, so we realized it was a competitor's deal, but now they're interested in what Foursquare can do for them. I offered to talk it through with them if they want to pursue opportunities in the future. :) From Jenny Levine (The Shifted Librarian) http://www.ﬂickr.com/photos/shifted/4287901565/

Cheap marketing! “For example, it would cost $5 for a restaurant to give my brother a free dessert for being mayor, but with Foursquare linked to Twitter (read word-of-mouth), that $5 could go a long way towards driving people to that venue” From http://adage.com/digitalnext/post?article_id=138305

Cons for all Furthers the distance between the “haves” and “have nots”

So what’s next? Image by RobHawkes: http://www.ﬂickr.com/photos/robhawkes/3083026218/in/set-72157610728754244/

Currently, some major corporations can: “Ping” branded tips (Ping=push messages to you) Create specialty event/company badges for you to unlock Why? So their brand will stay on your mind! Hopefully something similar to this will be released for smaller businesses

Example: Valentine’s Day

Questions? Discussion?

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FourSquare and business: can everyone win in this game of profit?

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