Foursquare is For … NOW!
There’s a new location-based trend in the here-to-stay world of online socializing sites. Sites like Gowalla and Foursquare lead the way about a year ago. Now Yelp (the foodie website) has added a “geo” element too. In the case of Foursquare, they’ve announced two affiliations in the last month that might be game-changers. They are now partnering with the Bravo network and with Zagat!
Stop.
What are you talking about?
Ok. Let’s start all over. In layman’s terms: Foursquare is a combination social network-gps locator-game that encourages one to “check-in” and leave “tips” when one is out and about. So let’s say, you’re going to the movies, or a bar, or a restaurant, or a museum – or anywhere, really – you open up the application and Foursquare will do a search for where you are. (Because it can locate you.) If your location doesn’t come up, you can type it in. Where it gets a bit fun and competitive is that one can become the mayor of a place or get points for checking in more times than anyone else in a given week or in a specific location. And yes, each check-in gets uploaded to your respective status update on Facebook or Twitter or both. If you’re on Facebook or Twitter, you’ve probably seen some updates.
Businesses get a free plug for doing, uh, nothing. But smart businesses – like Tasti D-Lite on the Upper East Side of NYC – have been offering discounts or free product to mayors or to others for just for checking in. This promotes guest visits and loyalty – and what restaurant doesn’t want that?
It’s a great site for cities because you can also see where your Foursquare friends have checked-in – and they may be around the corner. And now you can go join them.
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Here’s an informative video that breaks it down better than I do: How Foursquare helps consumers and businesses: http://slidesha.re/6e1NB0
If I owned a restaurant or a bar, I’d make sure I let all Foursquare types know that any check-in will be honored with a complimentary glass of wine or a draft beer or a dessert. As long as they showed their check-in.
For the record, since Christmas, I’ve been “out” 18 times, checked into 34 places and have been crowned the “Mayor” of St. Luke’s Episcopal Church and WordHampton Public Relations. (Um, these two mayoralties are pretty much a joke; I was experimenting with the site. Nonetheless, I AM the mayor of my church and my business. LOL!)
Here’s a brief description of Foursquare’s deal with Bravo taken from Gavin O’Malley at Media Post: “Foursquare offers entertainment brands an opportunity to interact with their customers on both a personal and local level,” said [Foursquare co-founder Dennis] Crowley. “By extending on-air, this partnership also allows us to reach beyond the tech-early-adopter crowd and introduce an entirely new audience to Foursquare.”
Bravo will create on-air spots that drive users to “check in” to Foursquare from various locations across the country that have been featured on Bravo series, as well as venues recommended by Bravo talent.
The network will offer a series of branded “badges” specifically designed around series that include “The Real Housewives,” “The Millionaire Matchmaker,” “Top Chef,” “Top Chef Masters” and “Shear Genius.”
But Foursquare didn’t stop at Bravo. Writing for Mashable.com, Jennifer Van Grove says,
“The New York Times is reporting that Foursquare has signed a deal with trusted restaurant review service Zagat. Zagat’s official Foursquare page is already live and includes official Zagat-rated tips and recommendations that users can add as to-dos to their Foursquare experience.
Zagat is calling the partnership “Foodie Love,” and there’s even a new accompanying foodie badge. Zagat.com is extending the partnership beyond Foursquare and starting a “Meet the Mayor” online interview series that will feature discussions with prominent Foursquare mayors.
Foursquare’s relationship with Zagat is clearly an answer to Yelp’s introduction of check-ins, especially given the trusted and prestigious nature of Zagat content.”
Oh. Foursquare is apparently this close to announcing partnerships with the History Channel, Warner Bros., HBO and Explore Chicago.
Guess it’s time we all started exploring Foursquare, eh?
Steve Haweeli is President at WordHampton Public Relations Inc. Contact Steve directly at steve@wordhampton.com or follow him on twitter @SteveHaweeli
Happy New Year!
This year will be dominated by one theme: Location-based social networking companies. These companies allow consumers to check into physical locations and earn points, discounts, and show where nearby contacts are. Some of these companies such as FourSquare and Gowalla started gaining traction in the last quarter of 2009 and will pick up major speed on the path to monetization this year.
Picture yourself walking into Target because you blew a fuse on your hairdryer. Upon entering, a location-based social network registers that you’re in the store and offers you a discount on your cell phone. Even further, it tells you that your best friends Ben and Jerry are down the road having coffee. What started as a mundane errand has been transformed into a more fulfilling outing.
The Green Buzz Agency Blog provides insight for Marketing Decision Makers and other fun people
Retail and local companies no longer need to be threatened by the digital world. There is value by partnering with online technologies that capitalize on location. Location-based social networks have the ability to put brick and mortar stores back into the online/bricks and mortar competition.
Some Location All Stars
Foursquare | 1.35M in funding | Launched in 2009*
FourSquare allows you to check into location, earn badges and discounts, and stay in contact with your friends near you.
Gowalla | 10.3M in funding | Launched in 2009*
Much like the other location-based social networking game, FourSquare, Gowalla allows you to check into locations and earn points.
*Via TechCrunch’s CrunchBase
Reasons to Leverage Location
- Immediacy. Location inherently breeds immediacy and action. If a consumer is at a location, close to a location, or close to a contact, they’re more likely to purchase (if they’re there), travel to purchase (if they’re close), or meet up to share (close to a contact). Immediacy enables actionable behavior, and actionable behavior is valuable because it provides measureable results.
- Measurable results. Using location and proximity to measure effects is easier than measuring what happens when eyeballs read a tweet. Retailers can use the location-based technologies to further understand their consumers. When consumers check into a location, data such as when consumers visit, how often they visit, and their behavior before and after they visit becomes valuable. With added incentives from brick and mortar stores partnering with these technologies, it is valuable through the information they can receive.
- Laser pointer theory. Think of the world as your company’s target – with no map, you’ll fire all over the globe and hit a fraction of your targets. This happens in business too- intentional or unintentional displaced messaging is the result of mis-firing and ill-placement. With location, companies can laser pinpoint and succeed. Misguided marketing and advertising no longer need to be the standard. Marketing and advertising are sometimes described as an art. In 2010, they become a science.
How to Leverage Location
The convergence of location-based digital companies and brick and mortar physical stores are breeding a new type of commerce – digital mortar. Surely different business models will yield different ways to capitalize on it and you can approach it from any angle. But the main outcome should always be deeper connections with your consumers and increased value from your company.
Is your company going to hop on the location bandwagon? I sure hope so. It’s going somewhere. Cheers to a new year of new places.
Sarah Merion is a senior at Northeastern University in Boston, MA. In February she departs for Buenos Aires, Argentina where she’ll study, travel, and learn about the digital culture in South America. To read more about business innovation and digital anthropology, visit SarahMerion.com or connect with her on Twitter: @sarahmerion.
