Archive for the 'Foursquare' Category

16
Nov
11

Four Ways to Improve Foursquare

By Mark Plumb 2 Comments
Categories: Advertising, Communications, Foursquare, Location Based Social Media, location data, Marketing, Social Media and Uncategorized
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Foursquare, the location-based social media service, has implemented two significant improvements to the service. They have integrated with Groupon to identify when a discounted offer is available for a specific location. Also, they have made home addresses private, which will hopefully mean fewer sites like ‘Please Rob Me’ mocking social media over sharing and identifying when you are not at home.

In the spirit of helping make the service better, here are four ways that Foursquare can become a better social media experience for users, businesses and opportunity for marketers:

  1. The establishment/location should be alerted that a user has checked in. Whether the store manager gets a text message or there is access to a group Twitter account, someone at the location should know when a Foursquare user has checked into their establishment. There is one location that I have been the mayor for more than six months and visited for 28 straight weeks with at least one check in per week. So far, ZERO acknowledgement from management.  The marketer in me wants them to know I am loyal and in return they should consider providing some recognition that will encourage me to spread news by word of mouth or social media. I know this will not be popular with all establishments, as I have heard from retailers that they do not want to ‘pay’ Foursquare to recognize someone that has already entered their store.
  2. The leaderboard and points are irrelevant – connect them to something of worth or simply eliminate them. This is the portion of Foursquare that feels like a frequent flyer program as I accumulate points with every check-in; but there is no cashing in my points for a romantic getaway to Napa Valley. In fact, the most often question I am asked by a non-foursquare adopter is, “A 5 point check-in? What did that get you?” I would be in favor of a donating my points to a charity and that charity can redeem the points for a monetary donation. But, for that to happen, the points need to mean something.
  3. Create another layer of recognition besides mayor. Foursquare has designated the person with the most check-ins over a rolling two-month period as the mayor. Since many locations are offering specials and discounts to the person holding the mayorship, it can be desirable to be the mayor. However, there are many valuable, loyal customers that cannot breakthrough to become mayor of a location. For today’s purpose, let’s call them a patron. Establishments should consider a loyalty bonus for a patron based on repeat visits over a short period. The offer can be less than the mayor’s offer to encourage a patron to strive to mayorship and still recognize the patron for being a valued customer.
  4. Enrich the experience at events. On Nov. 17, I am attending the Thursday night NFL game between the New York Jets and the Denver Broncos. Wouldn’t it be great to have a video highlight from the game broadcast for someone viewing my check in? You know, actually sharing information. This summer, I attended the Peter Gabriel concert at Red Rocks. When I checked into the event it would have been great to have a live video link for others to share the experience, a connection to his Facebook or My Space page or at least a link to iTunes to allow someone to purchase music. This is also an opportunity for ‘Swarming,’ Foursquare’s moniker for a location with a lot of concurrent check-ins. The idea is: everybody is here, you should be too! However, if I am engaged at a great networking event or an awesome happy hour, I am way too busy to check-in. How swarming can someplace be if you are stopping to tell everybody about it? There should be an automatic check in Foursquare pre-set option. For example, if my phone is at a place for 20 minutes with 200 other Foursquare users, it automatically checks me in – and you’ll know it’s really swarming.

We are convinced that location-based social media can be a powerful marketing tool. Many of our franchise clients would benefit greatly from a robust location-based program, but only if they can see a spike in repeat visitors.

Have you had good experiences with Foursquare? Want to add to this list, share your thoughts here or on Facebook at Weise Communications and follow us on Twitter at @Weise_Ideas.

19
Oct
11

How influential are you online?

By Heather Horsey Leave a Comment
Categories: Facebook, Flikr, Foursquare, Google Plus, Klout, Social Bookmarking, Social Media, Social Networking, Twitter and YouTube
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Have you ever wondered what presence you have online? There is a way to find out. Klout.com is a website that will measure your influence across your social networks. It takes your Facebook, Twitter, Google+ and any other social media sites and gives you a score. It uses variables from these sites such as friends, followers, retweets and posts. It measures these variables and gives you a score in three areas. Your true reach (how many people you influence), amplification (How much you influence them) and network impact (The influence of your network). It then combines the three scores and gives you a final score on a 1-100 scale with 100 being most influential.

Your True Reach is the number of people you influence. When you post a message, these people tend to respond or share it. Your Amplification is how much you influence people. When you post a message, how many people respond to it or spread it further? If people often act upon your content you have a high Amplification score. Your Network indicates the influence of the people in your True Reach. How often do top Influencers share and respond to your content? When they do so, they are increasing your Network score.

I’m sure by now you are at least a little bit curious about what your score might be. You should go play around on Klout.com and find out what your score is. Link it to your Facebook, Twitter, Google+, blog, LinkedIn and all your other social media sites to make sure you can get a score for all the sites you use.

Your score isn’t always going to be the same. You may sign on one day and be up a few points because more activity has been going on in your social media world and other days it may be down a few points because of lack of activity. You need to be consistently active in your social media to keep your Klout score increasing.

What is your Klout? Mine currently is 37. Share with us what you think of Klout and if there are other services that you think are more valuable.

22
Jul
11

Capitalizing on the Daily Deals Trend

By Mark Plumb 1 Comment
Categories: Advertising, Business growth, Business Strategies, Foursquare, Groupon, Marketing, Marketing Trends, mobile marketing, Social Media, Social Networking, trends and Uncategorized
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Living Social, Daily Deals, Woot and the growing beast Groupon have struck a chord with the public looking for ways to stretch discretionary spending in a down economy.

In general, the one deal per day concept is simple enough to understand. Everyday an email with a highly discounted deal from a local business is promoted. Customers go to a secure site and purchase the daily deal. Once the deal promotion has ended, the coupon is available to be printed and redeemed.

The business model is pretty simple as well. The daily deal provider collects the money and for each redeemed coupon will send approximately 25 percent of the coupon value to the business. The daily deal provider keeps all the revenue on coupons not redeemed. Yipit, a daily deals site aggregator estimates that 15 percent of purchased coupons are not redeemed. Overall revenue growth for these sites has increased more than 40 percent between 2010 and 2011, according to a report from BIA/Kelsey, a media research and consulting firm.

For local businesses, the daily deals phenomenon is attractive because there is no upfront marketing costs. Daily deals offer an opportunity to reach unknown customers, introduce products and services to new markets, reward loyal customers and purge old inventory. For this opportunity, the daily deal sites are looking for items that will sell. A deep discount on something that nobody wants will not see the light of day on these sites. Also, any business interested in participating must be prepared to put together a great package as discounts typically range from 50 to 90 percent off retail price.

However, there is one critical success factor that often goes overlooked. In order for the daily deal to be successful, the business must convert the deal seeker into a long-term customer.  This means providing a high-quality experience when a customer redeems a deal.  This is especially important in a service-based business. For example, restaurant servers has expressed how much they dislike these coupons because they are working much harder than usual during the redemption rush on the restaurant, yet they are most likely to be tipped on the reduced amount of the bill.  Keep staff motivated by giving them an opportunity for upsell or an ancillary product/service contest.

What’s next: the combination of mobile with the daily deal. Foursquare recently announced that it will distribute AT&T’s Deal of The Day. In the future, we will see daily deal immediacy, like your phone buzzing if you walk past a store with a deal of the day.

By the way, if you have daily deal buyers’ remorse, you can resell coupons on CoupRecoup. Let us know if you are addicted to the daily deals and if you’ve had any negative experiences. Share your thoughts with us on Facebook at Weise Communications and follow us on Twitter at @Weise_Ideas.

20
Apr
11

Will Business Revenues Increase as a Result of New Foursquare Application?

By Heather Horsey Leave a Comment
Categories: Business Strategies, Foursquare, SMM and Social Media
Tags: , , ,

Foursquare, the location-based service, which allows its users to “check-in” to a wide range of restaurants and businesses, has recently launched a new “explore” application. Foursquare Co-Founder Dennis Crowley said, “The idea is to find things near you, including the unexpected.” This new feature will not only aid users in exploring new venues, but this application also has the capability of marketing businesses.

The new “explore” application works based for user history and search terms. By simply typing in keywords, users are presented with a list of establishments matching their criteria. These results are liable to include new businesses and the “hidden treasures’ users may not be familiar with. Foursquare aims to help its users discover their city and help businesses connect with their customers. Currently, the service has 250,00 businesses signed up which include, national brands, regional franchises, and “mom and pop” establishments. It seems that the new explore feature is going to make this location-based service even more enticing to business owners who like to reach new customers in a unique way.

The two-year-old Foursquare has nearly 7.5 million users worldwide and adds about 35,000 each day. With the new “explore” application, businesses may prove to profit by being able to reach new customers with minimal effort. It will be interesting to see how this application impacts business and if there will be a spike in new client retention in upcoming months as a result.

Share your predictions with us or comment on how location-based services have impacted your business. Share with us on Facebook at Weise Communications and follow @Weise_Ideas on Twitter.

04
Mar
11

Social Media is the driving force behind online culture

By Mark Plumb Leave a Comment
Categories: Advertising, Apps, Business growth, Business Strategies, Facebook, Foursquare, Linked In, LinkedIn, Marketing, Mobile advertising, mobile marketing, Social Media, Social Networking, Twitter and Uncategorized
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One of the latest trends impacting social media is tagging an online status with a symbol. For example, the symbol to the right is the Super Mayor symbol for Foursquare, which is a special shout-out for holding down 10 mayorships at once. The symbol signifies to peers that someone made an online contribution or maintains a level of online popularity.  These online status symbols acknowledge actions and are becoming more desirable to achieve.

Initially, online status comes in the form of the number of LinkedIn connections, Facebook friends or Twitter followers. I’ll admit there is a little friendly competition among my friends to reach milestone numbers or connect with certain groups so their logo appears on the profile page.

But, Foursquare comes along and takes online status to the next level by tying it to achievement.  There is an establishment next door to our Denver offices where I am determined to be the mayor. I’m afraid that I might be spending a little too much time and money at that location to become the mayor, but that is the goal of location-based marketing.  If retail locations can encourage consumers to make every effort to obtain online status and tie status to transactions – it’s a win-win.  One retailer that understands the power of online status is Arby’s. Last November, Arby’s held a Foursquare promotion in which mayors of 37 locations from Evansville, Ind., to Huntsville, Ala., earned reserved seats at actual “Mayor’s tables.” The mayors received 50 percent off meals and Arby’s tested new products on this group.

As social media evolves, the lines between ‘real world’ and online can get blurred.  One example is the website Nerd Merit Badges which offers Foursquare symbols as a round 1.5” patch. You’ll see this patches adorn purses, backpacks, hats, etc. Further evidence of this ‘real world’, ‘online world’ crossover includes Crowded Ink, users can create a coffee mug adorned with profile pictures of Facebook friends or Twitter followers.  These images are some of my Facebook friends.

For marketers, keeping up with the cultural, intellectual, ethical and spiritual climate within groups of influencers gives your product or service an opportunity to be cutting edge.  As a part of an integrated marketing plan, consider supplying your social network with an online status symbol that displays their achievements with your company.

Tell us if you think embracing online status symbols improves social media marketing or if you think it’s just a fad. Share your ideas with us on Facebook at Weise Communications and follow @Weise_Ideas on Twitter.

 

25
Feb
11

Success in location-based social media is all about influence

By Mark Plumb Leave a Comment
Categories: Advertising, Communications, Foursquare, Marketing, Mobile advertising, mobile marketing, Social Media, Twitter and Uncategorized
Tags: , , , , , , , ,

In the summer of 2010, Forrester Research released a study that found only 4 percent of U.S. adults have used location-based mobile applications like Foursquare.

However, the demographic make-up of these early adopters is highly desirable to many marketers. Eighty percent of location-based service users are male and 70 percent are between 19 and 35 years old, having bachelor’s degrees or higher. Even more importantly, Forrester found these location-app users to be influential.

  • More likely to say friends and family ask their opinions before making a purchase
  • More receptive to mobile coupons/offers
  • More likely to research products and read customer reviews on their phone before making a purchase

In the world of social media, influence is king. As this group increases in size, its sphere of influence grows exponentially.

In April 2010, Twitter said 37 percent of its usage came from mobile phones. Analysts believe this number will be much higher today as people use Twitter to reveal aspects of their daily lives. As mobile social usage increases, the influence also grows. Once Twitter starts allowing users to claim venues, through Twitter Places, where tweets originate, location-based services will really take off.

“We are not looking to duplicate the functionality of Foursquare and Gowalla,” said Twitter CEO Evan Williams. “When you are tweeting about a place, it is kind of a check-in, but we are more interested in the content about that place.”

Forrester Analyst Melissa Parrish believes that “male-oriented brands should forge the way with location-based services and other marketers should hang back until these apps get bigger audiences.”

As adoption of Foursquare and other location-based social networks are growing the value will only rise. For marketers, it is important to consider that the sooner you get involved, the faster your network gains influence and the greater likelihood that you’ll reap benefits from leading-edge platforms.

Let us know if you’ve adopted location based social media and your successes. Share your thoughts with us on Facebook at Weise Communications and follow @Weise_Ideas on Twitter.

05
Jan
11

Branding Content: How creating a persona for your brand creates ROI

By Heather Horsey Leave a Comment
Categories: Ad Agency, Ads, Advertising, Apps, Business growth, Business Strategies, business to business, business to consumer, commercials, Communications, Digital Media, Email, Facebook, Flikr, Foursquare, GOOP, personas, Social Media, Social Networking, Twitter, webisodes and YouTube
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Branded content is essentially a fusion of entertainment and advertising that has been around for decades, just think of soap manufactures and the soap opera. With social media and the increasing prevalence of mobile apps in our daily lives, branded content seeks to have an increasingly large role in marketing and advertising of brands in the future.

Branded content can be anything from a short film, music, game, blog, mobile app, newsletter, blogzine, microsite or real-life event. The content merely exists to entertain and educate the consumer, while conveying subtle brand messages in the mean time. But more than this, branded content creates a persona for your brand and helps engage target audiences in a reciprocal relationship.

The idea for a brand is to listen to online conversations and establish what interests your target audiences. Is there a need or desire for certain information? Can you provide that information in an engaging way?

The most successful branded content programs are able to blend messaging in a seamless and transparent fashion, while still getting the information across to the consumer. Branded content creation serves several purposes: customer entertainment, stealth advertising and social engagement.

An industry that has embraced branded content is the fashion industry (see Louis Vuitton’s NOWNESS), but other brands that get it right are:

The iFood application allows users to:

  • Email or print coupons for Kraft products or even add them right to your store savings card.
  • Find recipes and post the ones you love to Facebook
  • Scan and enter a barcode to add to a shopping list or find recipes
  • Print shopping lists, coupons, and recipes
  • Get detailed recipe directions and even video tutorials
  • Set alerts about planned recipes, recopies of the day or special offers
  • Find a retailer to buy your products

Now, tell me that wont build more consumer loyalty?

Branded content is about creating an experiential story; It’s about crafting stories though every communication tool – signage, display advertising, print, radio and television ads, that are then translated to the web, social networks and now mobile apps. In the end it really comes down to knowing your customer extraordinarily well. By consistently engaging your audience via editorial content that is expertly mixed into the e-commerce landscape, you can tie sales. The best social media and branded content executions out there are driven by narrative, not commerce.

Branded content is quickly becoming a cost effective, long-term online marketing strategy that industries will continue to utilize as brands and retailers look for new, innovative ways to connect with customers online.

What impact do you think branded content can have on consumer behavior and where do you think this technique is headed in the future? We’d love to hear, so post a comment on The Side Note Blog, send us a tweet @Weise_Ideas, or find us on Facebook: Weise Communications.

16
Dec
10

Five Social Media Trends for 2011 and Beyond

By Mark Plumb Leave a Comment
Categories: Advertising, Business Strategies, Communications, Facebook, Foursquare, Marketing, Mobile advertising, Privacy, QR Code, Social Media, Social Networking, trends and Twitter
Tags: , , , , , ,

Previously, we shared five marketing trends for 2011.  With social media being such a huge component of integrated marketing programs, we thought we would drill down on social media trends. Here are five social media trends for 2011 courtesy of Weise Communications.

1. With the rapid adoption of smart phones, QR Codes will explode in the U.S.

The QR (quick response) code can direct a user to Internet content.  To the right is the QR code for The Side Note.  If you have an application such as NEOReader or RedLaser open on your smart phone and take a picture of this image, our blog will open on your smart phone.  Cool huh?

Mainstream adoption of QR codes appears to be starting.  OnStar and AXE Shower Gel have created traditional magazine ads and incorporated QR codes. For these codes to truly hit the mainstream, people will have to know what to do when they see a QR code, the content must be rewarding and engaging.  Also, advertisers must resist the temptation to let the QR code stand alone. Consumers need to have some expectations about the content they are going to access.

Yamanashi Prefecture has taken the QR code content to another level by producing headstones with QR codes embedded in them. The “Memorial Service Window” enables visitors to scan the QR code and get pictures, videos and other information on the deceased. It also keeps a log of each time the code was scanned so family members can know when relatives visit the gravesite.

2. Location-based marketing will take on more prominence

Services like Foursquare and Gowalla use smart phones geo-location capabilities to let users notify others of their locations by “checking in” to that location.  Marketers will develop more innovations to drive traffic to retail locations.  One that we really liked was a Foursquare promotion in which mayors of 37 Arby’s locations from Evansville, Ind., to Huntsville, Ala., get reserved seats at “Mayor’s tables” and 50 percent off meals.

This is a great example of how location-based marketing will become wildly successful.  It will get more narrowly focused. People are more likely to use like Foursquare and Gowalla when they believe they will receive special treatment and can point to a specific value from participating.

3. Wikileaks is a pre-cursor to a new wave of privacy concerns

One of the side effects of Wikileaks, and the rapid explosion of released classified information disseminated through Wikileaks related social media, is that companies will tie social media information and interactions with the desire to keep certain information out of public forums.

Wikileaks has spawned new social business intelligence companies. These companies are working on the ability to effectively obtain and combine mobile, online and tangible information in ways that will identify information about a person or a business that is more accurate than having someone’s Social Security number.  Before this begins to sound like the ramblings of a conspiracy-theory freak, the trend we see on the horizon companies being more vigilant about data privacy in social media.

4. Measuring social media effectiveness will NOT solely be based on ROI

Retweets, fans and likes are not reflected on an income statement however, it does not mean that they are without value and merit. Marketers will have to push the C-Suite to recognize the value of these indicators beyond the bottom line.

Forrester research reveals that most companies don’t know how to determine the ROI of social media and offers a balanced marketing scorecard that incorporates customer attitude shifts about a brand and the ability to respond in a crisis.

5. Twitter figures out how to monetize the service

Twitter failed with Early Bird and is having mild success with promoted tweets, but we think Twitter will finally realize the secret of their service is…that they are a search engine.  Here are a few suggestions that Twitter can implement to start generating serious income:

  • Allow an auction/bid process for keyword purchases
  • Deliver targeted ads based on search terms
  • Deliver targeted ads based on tweet history

We also wonder if Twitter will give companies the opportunity to purchase followers.  How would those on Twitter choose to opt-in? Could the Twitter account holder share in the revenue? If your bought, can you ‘unfollow’?

Tell us what social media trends you see taking off in 2011. Share your ideas with us on Facebook at Weise Communications and follow @Weise_Ideas on Twitter.

 

 

30
Nov
10

Five Marketing Trends for 2011 and Beyond

By Mark Plumb Leave a Comment
Categories: Advertising, Business Strategies, Communications, Facebook, Foursquare, Marketing, PR, Public Relations, Social Media, trends, Twitter, Uncategorized and YouTube
Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , ,

As 2010 is drawing to a close, marketers reflect on the past year in order to prepare for next year as well as avoid mistakes and surprises. It is also a good time to reflect on changes and leverage some marketing trends. Here is the first Weise Communications list of marketing trends for 2011:

1. Marketing Budgets Shifting Toward On-line

Clients, customers and prospects are spending more time online and are going online earlier in the buying process to collect information, create relationships, compare choices and determine conclusion about the items they will buy. Therefore, marketers must reposition marketing budgets to reflect their customer and prospects preferences.

2. Corporate Social Media-ization

Many organizations have deployed social media campaigns on Facebook and Twitter. However, they have not fully integrated it into their corporate website.  Primarily, this is due to the pressure to simply “be there.” 2011 will bring social media/website integration and a recurring social media marketing cycle:

  • Research
  • Plan
  • Engage
  • Measure
  • Repeat

3. Location-based Marketing

As smart phone adoption grows, according to a 2009 study from nielsenwire the U.S. smart phone penetration is 17 percent, location-based marketing and mobile applications will be a key mobile marketing trend in 2011. As of October 2010, Foursquare had more than 4 million users and has spawned a slate of competitors: Gowalla, Google Latitude and the recently launched Facebook Places are just a few of the mobile applications poised to take advantage of this trend.

4. Video as a Marketing Tool

YouTube is not simply a way to share video clips. It has become a massive search engine. Video content that addresses common concerns and issues clients, customers and prospects are facing then distributing video through social networks is a powerful way to stamp impressions into their memory and strengthen customer relationships.

5. Privacy is a Major Concern

The Internet has made it easy for anyone to obtain someone else’s birth date and social security number. It also houses other personal and potentially embarrassing (but technically public) information. While some may never be comfortable with data nudity, marketers must be leaders the privacy protection issue as enterprise marketing gets more social and mobile. One high-profile mistake and the entire industry could face forced government regulation.

Tell us what marketing trends you see in your 2011 crystal ball, if we have missed the boat or if you have another trend to add to our list. Share your ideas with us on Facebook at Weise Communications and follow @Weise_Ideas on Twitter.

 

24
Nov
10

Gain Mayorship, Earn Perks: Retailers Give Incentives to Foursquare Users

By Heather Horsey 1 Comment
Categories: Advertising, Business growth, Businesses, Foursquare, Franchise, Marketing and Social Media
Tags: , ,

With the advent of Foursquare, social media has become competitive. Bragging rights of being a mayor is the big prize you win.

Being an active Foursquare user, I have caught the competitive social media bug. My friends and I compete to see who can unlock the most badges, check-in first at each establishment and earn mayoral rights. Since Foursquare users have become so competitive, my friends and I included, we all want to hold the mayorship of our favorite establishments; so it encourages us to drop in more often.

At some establishments it can payoff to become the mayor. Recently, Arby’s kicked off a Foursquare promotion in which mayors of 37 locations from Evansville, Ind., to Huntsville, Ala., gets reserved seats at a “Mayor’s tables” and 50 percent off meals. So not only are customers benefiting from being the mayor of Arby’s, but also the fast food establishment has the chance to run a loyalty program and test new products on valued customers.

Senior Vice President at Arby’s Restaurant Group Inc. Bob Kraut believes, “This [Foursquare] represents the intersection of the social media conversation we want to be a part of and the real world target ability that larger retail operations desire.”

Arby’s is not the only establishment giving its social media followers perks. The MarketFair Mall in Princeton, N.J., has designated one prime parking spot as Foursquare Mayor Parking and on the first Wednesday of the month. Mayor of the W Montreal hotel gets valet parking, a spa treatment or a night’s stay at no charge. In addition to mayoral prizes, companies can also sponsor badges. For example, those who follow Mazda and check-in at participating nightlife venues can earn the Mazda badge and enter to win a new car. Mazda chose nightlife venues to promote the Mazda badge in order to reach its tech savvy target audience.

Although marketers are questioning the function of Foursquare, it seems with the competitive nature of humans, there is ample opportunity if marketers choose to seize it.

Tell us if you think Foursquare will significantly change marketing and social media or if you think it’s just a fad. Share your ideas with us on Facebook at Weise Communications and follow @Weise_Ideas on Twitter.

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