Remember “Friends?” The t.v. show centered around the lives of Rachel, Ross, Joey, Phoebe, Chandler & Monica—six best buds who would gather at the “Central Perk” coffee shop on a daily basis to commiserate about twentysomething life in urban America. If set in 2010 NYC, there’s no doubt these friends would be hooked on Foursquare.
If you are part of a business that people can physically walk into—be it a dining establishment, a bar, a clothing store or sporting venue—you should claim your establishment and actively participate in Foursquare. Why? Just visit the Foursquare website and search for your biz. Chances are, people are already using Foursquare to “check in” to your venue. So what is Foursquare and what does this all mean? Here’s a quick overview:
Foursquare is a real-life game people play. It’s all done via the Foursquare web site or through various smart phone applications that work with and connect to Foursquare. Users sign up for a free Foursquare account, then “check in” to an establishment each time they visit it. The users then accrue points each time they check in, with the highest point earner becoming known as the “mayor” of that particular place. It becomes competitive amongst friends and regulars at a certain venue. It is also informative: friends can share tips about an establishment, and post their likes or dislikes about a venue with other friends and users. They can also see how many points a friend has earned, as well as where a friend has checked into recently.
But Foursquare goes beyond simply being a competition where the winners earn bragging rights. Users earn actual awards from businesses: special offers, discounts or freebies that they “unlock” once they check into an establishment. For example, a patron might check in at a restaurant and see that since this is their 10th check in, they’ve been rewarded with a free drink at the bar. A visitor to a clothing store might check in and see that the shop is offering all Foursquare participants 20% off on their purchases during their 5th visit. What better than to earn actual rewards for playing a game?
So why should a business get involved in all of this? First off, it’s free. Just visit Foursquare and claim your establishment. Then let the creativity begin. It’s a great way to engage people and make your brand part of the game. Keep people coming back for more by earning good reviews and giving out special offers and discounts. And remember to keep the “mayor” of your establishment happy. He or she may be your biggest fan and act as a vocal champion of your products and services on Foursquare for all other “players” to see and hear about.
Foursquare also makes it easy: it helps businesses easily develop their own specials for players to unlock, as well as gives companies marketing tools to promote their participation in Foursquare (such as a set of window clings). Businesses can also leverage their presence on Twitter and Facebook to promote their venue as Foursquare-friendly. Once a special is created, businesses can log onto Foursquare to track analytics and see how many visitors check in and used the special offer. As stated on the Foursquare site: “You’ll be surprised how effective a little friendly competition — over the Mayorship, over free fries! — is at driving customers back to your venue.”
No doubt if we could set their watches to the 21st Century, our “Friends” friends would get hooked on Foursquare. But the real question is: ‘Which one of them would be Central Perk’s mayor?’ Let the debates begin!
