Mobile Marketing

Local Businesses Can Find Great Opportunities in Location Based Marketing

Written August 5th, 2011 by

*This is a partial reprint of Liana Li Evans’ article from ClickZ

Mobile Marketing StrategyWith the exponential growth of Foursquare over the past year, there’s a reason why Facebook is rushing to capitalize on the mobile advertising with its own geo-social networking feature, “Places.” The opportunity is great for small businesses if they can harness interested Facebook users utilizing these types of services. They already see it with Foursquare’s user base, as people post to their profiles from the Foursquare smartphone apps.

However, that being said, geo-social networks are still not the mainstream social communities that Twitter and Facebook are. These geo-social networking communities rely heavily on smartphone adoption to allow the community member to get the best value out of the community. Many times I’ve walked into a local store, logged in, became the mayor, and told the owner, and guess what, they had no idea what I was talking about.

These geo-social networks provide a great opportunity for small businesses to find and engage with their most loyal customers and smart small business owners would be wise to adopt some kind of engagement strategy for utilizing these networks and their users. Most likely, these loyal users of applications like Foursquare, Gowalla, or Yelp have some affinity to the place they are logging into and if they are a mayor or they are uploading digital media along with their check-ins, you might even have found an evangelist for your local business.

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Understanding Foursquare’s Enhanced Specials & Deals

Written July 20th, 2011 by

Foursquare Logo & BadgesOne of the more resourceful things about social media is the ease it which to get the information we need as quickly as possible. Facebook really kick started a trend that had been laboring under the days of MySpace.  Now Twitter, Foursquare and Google+ continue the trend, taking Location Based Marketing to a whole new level. In an earlier article this year I talked about the basics of Foursquare and it’s practical uses for businesses both large and small. Since then however we have seen a few changes come to Foursquare and I’d like to take a brief time to go over them.

As mentioned previously, Foursquare has three basic functions. The first and the most popular is a location based mobile application. You check in at a location and let people know where you are.  These checkins can be posted to Facebook, Twitter and even LinkedIn.  In recent months this type of reporting has caused quite an uproar, with websites like “Please Rob Me” which scour the public Twitter feed for Foursquare check-ins and posting them, thus pointing out that thieves could use the information to know when you were not at home. With any technology there will be always be issues and that is as much as we will say on the matter.

The second is the fictional race to be Mayor of as many locations as possible.  This one is rather self explanatory, check in more to a location than anyone else consistently within a certain time frame and you can be Mayor of your local bar, restaurant, library, airport, etc. For some people this even supersedes telling your friends where you are, for others it’s about the perks the establishment may offer its Mayors.

Foursquare’s Enhanced Deals & Specials

It is the last function that I wish to focus on today however. The specials. In the past these specials were offered by the individual location. Things like a bottle of wine with your third check-in or 5% off you meal with your first check-in. In late June, after reaching 10 million users however Foursquare decided to up the ante a bit with a few new changes to the specials format.  Read the rest of this entry »

Foursquare: Why it’s More than Just a Location Application

Written April 15th, 2011 by

For most of us involved in Social Media, (a term which this particular author hates), Foursquare has become routine and  even a  way of life. Checking into a location is almost as much of the common vernacular right now as  “Facebook me” was 5 years ago.

Don’t believe me? Try going to a destination where there are a multitude of places to check-in and see if you don’t get told that the app can’t check you in right now, try again later. Last weekend I coerced my best friend to join Foursquare  since he was an avid “Facebook Location” follower.  He kept watching me checking in and wanted to know what the big deal was.

His first few minutes of Check-Ins he got a multitude of “points” and was hooked like most people are. Soon after he was asking me if I had checked in yet. I had created a monster. In his haste to check in everywhere he was missing the point however. He was getting part of the attraction, the so-called game of points, but Foursquare is a more than just I am here”, check out my point total”.  For marketers, it’s also another clever way to get some free press, and more importantly, get a share of promoters (customers) who actually believe in your product. It also allows you to become “mayor” of your favorite places. A lot of places now have signs requesting you to check in.

Many times people, like my friend who was checking-in at great speed,  fail to see the “specials here” tab during their check-in and miss the deal.  Admittedly, sometimes the deal comes after multiple check-ins, thereby forcing you to come back again and again in order to achieve it. Most of the time, however, the special is a free appetizer at a restaurant (RA Sushi Bar in Las Vegas offers a free edamame appetizer with a check-in.  Just show it to your server to get credit.) Or perhaps a percentage off of a comedy act. (The Mirage is currently offering 35% off of Terry Fator’s show if you show your check-in to the box office)

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Quick Response (QR) for Small Businesses

Written April 4th, 2011 by

According to Wikipedia, A QR code (short for Quick Response) is a specific matrix barcode (or two-dimensional code), readable by dedicated QR barcode readers and camera phones. The code consists of black modules arranged in a square pattern on a white background. The information encoded can be text, URL or other data.

Great! What the heck does that mean? And how is it going to help my small business?

QR Codes are simply an easy way for Smartphone users to go to your web or mobile site without having to type in a URL. The QR Code ends up replacing your link and makes it easier on the user since they no longer have to type in the URL. They just scan the QR using their Smartphone with software that comes pre-installed or with one of the many available free applications.

This is really useful for mobile devices where typing in something can be a laborious task. Another great benefit is that these Quick Response codes can be generated at no cost and can be implemented in a variety of mediums. The QR Codes can be used in print media, digital media, or on any real world object. This means they are accessible through billboards, in-store display ads, business cards, print ads, direct mail campaigns, email marketing, and more. Anywhere you place your company logo, you can place a QR code. I have even heard of people tattooing them on themselves. (Not highly recommended). Read the rest of this entry »

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