Image courtesy of Foursquare.
With more than 30 million users and 3 billion check-ins, Foursquare’s community is robust and growing. Just like any platform, you need to make sure it fits in with your overall strategy and goals, but its features seem especially useful for retailers and those in the B2C space.
Here are examples of ways you can integrate Foursquare into your social strategy:
Own Your Listing: If you own or represent a business, there’s a good chance that you already have a customer-submitted business listing on Foursquare. This means that you already have a community interested in engaging with you on Foursquare, so you could gain great return if you claim your listing and offer exclusives to your Foursquare friends.
Build a Community: If you don’t have a customer-created listing on Foursquare, there are still lots of ways to get involved and find your community. You can create your own business listing, promote news, events and discounts with Foursquare Local Updates or setup a Special to attract and reward visitors.
Find New Customers: If you’re a business that relies on foot traffic, it’s time you tested Foursquare. More than 100 million people can find your business through the app and its partners, and when users are in your area and searching for places to go, they’ll be able to find your business. Be sure to fill out a description, hours of operation and link to your site so potential customers can find all the information they need.
Continue Building on Customer Relationships: Once someone has checked in at your business, they will see updates you post. Make sure you’re posting useful information and offering them value, such as a discount, loyalty program or early access to an event.
Specials: I’m the biggest deal seeker out there, and if there are two similar businesses near me on Foursquare and only one offers a special for check-ins, you better believe I’m going to the business offering a deal. Make sure you utilize these features to draw customers in.
To-Do Lists: As a user, I love having the option to make a to-do list of places I want to go. This is one more added perk of being on Foursquare; even if a user isn’t stopping by your store today, it can help you attract them in the future.
Don’t Have a Brick & Mortar store? No worries. Foursquare has options for all businesses to build a presence and connect with its fans. You also can add content for your followers, a great option for all the content marketers out there! You can still add specials and incentives for your followers, which is an excellent perk.
B2B Use: Besides the above features Foursquare offers, B2B companies can use the app to invite conference participants to check-in at their booth, or use it as an internal tool to encourage employees. Whether you have employees check-in at a special event or meeting room, it’s a great way to encourage collaboration and utilize internal advocates.
Foursquare seems like an app that is pigeon-holed into the B2C and retail community, but they’ve done a great job of offering tools for all companies and markets.
How do you use Foursquare?
Tags: best practices, content marketing, Marketing, social media