Foursquare is sweeping the nation, and April 16, 2010 is National Foursquare Day. Why 4/16? Because April is the 4th month, and 16 is four squared (4^2). Get it? (It’s a math joke.)
The really cool part is that some communities, including Manchester, NH, are starting to rally around National Foursquare Day. I was recently notified that local advertising agency wedü got behind the idea and started a Facebook Fan Page. As a Manchester resident, I’m psyched to see this type of involvement and wanted to offer some suggestions about how to participate, both for individuals and businesses.
If you aren’t sure what Foursquare is, the Business Insider has a good post on What is Foursquare. As a quick note, this article was written in January of 2010 and states that Foursquare has over 275,000 users. As of April, Foursquare is quickly approaching 1,000,000 users.
Also, if you don’t want to take my advice, take it from Dennis Crowley, Co-Founder of Foursquare. He recently sat down with HubSpot’s Mike Volpe to discuss some tips for businesses using Foursquare. See the interview at HubSpot’s Internet Marketing Blog. (Full Disclosure: I work for HubSpot.)
With the 16th being less than a week away, here are some ways that people & businesses can get the most out of the day:
Foursquare Users
- Check-in everywhere. It doesn’t matter if you don’t think that CVS isn’t cool enough for a check-in, the point of the day is to Foursquare the world. If you go somewhere, and feel that it legitimately deserves a check-in, do it.
- Don’t Cheat. Really, this is all about having fun and supporting business in our community. Don’t do fake or drive-by check-ins. It just isn’t cool.
- Add Venues. Cities like Manchester don’t have a saturation of Foursquare users yet, and not every business is listed as a venue. Do your part and add places to the list. If a venue is already listed, take the extra effort to categorize and tag it.
- Ask About Foursqare Day Specials. Some businesses don’t know about Foursquare Day. If you’re visiting a business, ask if they are doing anything special for Foursquare Day. Maybe they are, maybe they aren’t. But, I guarantee that if enough people ask, it will create buzz. Oh, and don’t forget to Be Polite.
- Plan a Swarm. Since Foursquare is a social app, you should get social. Try to get enough people out & in one place so we can get a Swarm Badge. (I suggest the Fisher Cats game that day.)
- Connect Your Social Media Accounts. I’m usually opposed to having my check-ins go to Twitter and Facebook, because I feel it creates noise in those channels. But, since this day is all about Foursquare, I’m going to say bring the noise, bring the funk.
Businesses
- Make Sure Your Business Listing is Up to Date. Do a search on Foursquare for your business to make sure everything is correct. If there are multiple entries for you business, you can ask Foursquare to merge the listings.
- Add To-Dos & Tips for Your Business. To-Do’s are suggestions for what to do, eat, or try at your business. Clue people into something cool, or have them say hi to your rockstar employee. The great thing about Tips & To-Do’s is that Foursquare will offer them up to people when they check-in at your venue, or near it. Picture a potential customer checking-in at the coffee shop across the street and they get a Tip that your business has the world’s best “thing”. That’s timely advertising.
- Offer a Special. More businesses are starting to offer specials for their Mayors, but that is only 1 person at a time. Because Foursquare Day is a big event, do a Foursquare special for anyone that checks-in at your business on 4/16. Make sure to get your special listed at http://www.foursquaremanchester.com
- Tell Your Staff. Nothing’s worse than getting all jazzed-up for a special, but getting a blank stare from an employee. Make sure everyone in your organization knows about Foursquare Day.
That’s about it. Get out your Blackberries, Droids, & iPhones, start checking-in, get those badges, and explore Manchester!
{ 2 trackbacks }
Comments on this entry are closed.