Tag Archives: foursquare

Foursquare reaches out to non-members

I’ve long been an advocate of Foursquare and its benefits for companies, particularly bricks and mortar businesses. Growth in active new members in the UK has been much slower than the US but the Foursquare team in New York and London are regularly adding new features that add value and increase awareness.

As of last week they introduced a new Share button/icon on apps and special web pages to show off venues to people that don’t have the Foursquare app on their mobile. Having tested over the weekend, it’s a shame that the new pages son’t appear on the iPad - users are directed to the old style pages.

On IoS you’ll see a new blue share button and on Android a share icon. If the recipient doesn’t have the Foursquare app installed they are taken to a shiny new web page which contains map, photos, tips and rating for the venue.

Selecting the Open App button on the top right of the page prompts you to sign up for Foursquare.

This new feature should help raise awareness of the benefits of Foursquare amongst non-members and encourage more users to join. Both are a good thing for venues who are promoting themselves through the Foursquare app.

What do you think about this new feature? Please post in the Comments below.

Foursquare launch new Amex UK Special

Foursquare has just launched a new Special - a money saving offer - in conjunction with American Express  in the UK. This offer works in a similar way to the previous raft of UK wide Amex specials that were launched in June and which ended in mid-August.

Shoppers that synch their American Express card with Foursquare, then check-in at a branch of Harvey Nichols, claim the Special and spend £25 on their Amex card will receive a £25 credit back onto their card.

If you own or manage a business with a venue like a coffee shop, restaurant, pub or hotel you can also offer your visitors a special when they check-in using the Foursquare app on their phone. It’s easy to setup and a great way of attracting new visitors to your business and encouraging loyalty from existing customers.

You can also send updates via Foursquare to local customers to promote special offers and event.

For more advice on how Foursquare can benefit your business give me a call on +44(0)1242 332016.

Foursquare launch promoted updates

Foursquare continues to gain momentum in both the US and UK although growth is faster in the former.  A recent survey of 2200 US restaurants by Restaurant Sciences showed that 86% of chain restaurants and 72% of independent restaurants have a presence on Foursquare.

All Foursquare’s features such as being able to set up special offers and campaigns are currently free and provide a great opportunity for venue based businesses to attract customers through their doors. In addition, managers of venues have access to a dashboard that provides metrics on visitors and campaigns.

A new tool in the form of ‘promoted updates’ and ‘promoted specials’ is currently being piloted by chains and independents in the US and will soon be available to businesses small and large. This is Foursquare’s first attempt at obtaining revenue through their service. Promoted updates will work in a similar way to promoted tweets on Twitter and promoted posts on Facebook.

They build on last month’s launch of ‘local updates‘ which enable businesses to send messages to regular customers. Promoted updates will appear at the top of the Explore tab on the Foursquare tab and provide a way for venue owners to highlight tips left by customers and specials.

How users will react will be clearer after the pilot but on the face of it these are far removed from display ads. They’ll make use of the algorithm currently used to display recommendations so will be personalised for the user. My guess is that they won’t be deemed to be intrusive and users will like them.

Pricing will be decided after the pilot and the new feature will be available in the app within a few weeks.

To learn more about Foursquare and how it can help your business give me a call on 01242 332016 or email me.

Reach local customers with Foursquare updates

There’s now an extra incentive for owners of businesses like pubs, restaurants, hotels, coffee shops and beauty salons to claim their venue on Foursquare, the geo-location check-in and recommendation service.

The one million businesses that have verified and claimed their listing now have access to a new messaging service called ‘Local Updates’. The marketing tools on Foursquare are now even more powerful. Venue owners can already create their own presence on Foursquare and set up offers for customers known as Specials. All these tools are free although I suspect that in future Foursquare will charge for the service or aspect of it.

Using local updates businesses can send messages to Foursquare users pinpointed by a user’s check-in frequency, geographic location, and type of businesses he or she has ‘liked’ in the past.

Local Updates are posted into the Friends feed and could be used in a number of ways. For example, to highlight a Foursquare Special or to promote an event.

For customers, Local Updates are an easy way to keep up with news and offers from places they frequent.

Context and personalisation as previously stated will play a huge part in the future of marketing and this development is very much in keeping with that. It will be interesting to see how users of Foursquare respond. Will they enjoy the targeted content or see it as being creepy? My guess would be on the former.

For advice on how your business can use Foursquare to attract customers please get in touch.

Save money across the UK with Foursquare

A social media and a money saving tip! Download the new Foursquare app and check-in to the a range of UK shops and restaurants to get cash back when paying with an American Express card.

What I like about this Special is it’s simplicity and convenience for both customer and merchant. No need for printing and cutting out coupons, checking with the waiter if the offer is valid then waiting around as they find out. All the mechanics are done behind the scenes so the restaurant or shop staff don’t have to do anything. In fact, they aren’t even aware that you’re getting money back. Clever.

It works like this: you check in on Foursquare, select the Special then ‘Load To Card’ then pay with your Amex card. You’ll then get a notification via the app that you’ve redeemed the Special. You need to spend £5 or £10 depending on the merchant - listing of merchants and amounts below the image below - then an equivalent amount will be credited back to your American Express account.

For example, spend £10 in Nando’s and receive £10 back. I’ve tried it at Tesco and Café Rouge and it only took two days to receive the cash back. You can only claim each Special once but there are some good savings available.

Here are the merchants participating in the Foursquare American Express Specials:

Bella Italia - £10
Café Rouge - £10
House of Fraser - £10
Nando’s - £10
PizzaExpress - £10
Primark - £10
Strada - £10
Tesco - £5
Eat - £5

Follow me, Jonathan Pollinger, on Twitter @intranetfuture for social media news and tips throughout each day. If you need help with Foursquare tweet me up.

Update 22 July 2012 - American Express will shortly be offering similar deals via Facebook and Twitter.