Foursquare - what it is and why it matters to your business
Have you heard of Foursquare? Well Morgan PR associate Katharine Robinson is something of an expert and in this guest blog post she explains what it is and why you should care.
Foursquare is the newest social media kid on the block and is certain to be hanging out on a street corner near your business very soon. Will you be ready?
Foursquare is a very young social network that has just passed 1 million users. It allows its users to "check-in" places when they are out and about. This allows them to see where their friends are and can lead to many more social opportunities. You may have seen plenty of tweets already
The reputation of your local business is no longer in your hands... indeed it hasn't been for some time. If someone has something nice, or something derogatory, to say about your products of services they've been able to let their network know via Twitter and Facebook for years now. But of course... that information is of the moment, not necessarily relevant to all their friends and in lots of cases; someone would have to be looking in order to find it.
Your place of business may well be on Foursquare already. Anyone can add any place - for example, the owner of a cafe or restaurant doesn't decide whether or not to be on Foursquare, customers decide whether or not to add it. Simply search on the Foursquare website to find out.
There are already many local venues in Newbury and West Berkshire added to Foursquare. Some of my most popular haunts include The Train Station, Cobbs Farm Shop in Hungerford and of course social media poster child Starbucks. People that visit venues can leave tips and suggestions for those that come along later to find. This might be to tell future customers of a pizza restaurant which wine is particularly good, or it might tell them that the service is bad and they should avoid eating there. It's a treasure trove of useful insights into what customers really think of cafes, restaurants, shops or their local gym.
If you run any sort of business that means your customers come to visit you - you should claim your business on Foursquare. Even if your business has been added to Foursquare by someone else, you can claim it as your own and then have some control. You can offer freebies or promotions to your most loyal customers (believe it or not, the person that visits a venue the most is awarded the title of Mayor) or just keep an eye on what your customers are saying about you. You could even use it to strike up conversation and get to know your customers better. Contact Morgan PR if you would like to explore using Foursquare.
Very few UK businesses are claimed on Foursquare. There are only 25 venues offering special deals to Foursquare users and more than 70% of them are based in London or Manchester. If you were to offer a deal to Foursquare users you would be the only business to do so for many miles around. The local community already has a substantial Foursquare user base. Sixty different people have checked into Newbury Train Station alone. That's sixty local people that are probably itching to have a new foursquare experience.
It's also possible to see what Foursquare users think of your competitors. What frustrates them about going to other coffee shops? Is your coffee shop doing that too or could you offer them a better service? If nothing else, Foursquare is a great place to learn from yours and other people's customers.