Foursquare, the popular social networking and activity application,recently announced
that more than 700,000 “check-ins” are taking place every day. That’s a lot of activity and it’s all centered on businesses and brands — an opportunity not to be missed. So, what is Foursquare, and how can it help your business?
In its simplest form, Foursquare works like this: Consumers launch the app from their phones (or via SMS for non-smartphones), then check in to a business when they arrive. By checking in, consumers can see if any of their connected friends are at the same location or nearby, share and discover insider tips about the location and earn points. Points are accumulated and badges earned, then used to assign a status for the individual, with the top point-getter being crowned “Mayor.” What this does is create a community — an active and competitive community — around the business itself. Users are engaged and encouraged to visit the location time and again. Essentially, Foursquare helps drive foot traffic, branding and create consumer advocates.
The Foursquare Community
Foursquare users are brand advocates by their very nature. Of course, they might not think of themselves that way — in their minds they are satisfying their own egos. But that satisfaction is derived vis-avis the business being patronized. The goal of every Foursquare user is to become Mayor of their favorite local businesses — restaurants, night clubs, golf courses ... just about anything. To do this, the user must check in from the location itself. So, the more they frequent a business, the better chance they have to become Mayor. Of course, there are other reasons for people to use Foursquare and make a run at Mayor other than simple ego stroking. And that’s where the businesses come into play.
Foursquare for Business
If you knew that a certain person was a fan of your business and was perfectly willing to encourage his friends to become fans too, wouldn’t you want to reach out to that person and make absolutely sure that they kept coming back? With Foursquare, this is precisely what you can do. One of the most popular and effective ways for businesses to use Foursquare is to offer real-world rewards to their business’ Mayors and other frequent patrons. For example, a restaurant can offer a free cocktail every time a user checks in, delivered right through the app. Or, perhaps the free cocktail is offered after every fifth visit, encouraging repeat business.
The possibilities are only limited by your imagination and perhaps your budget. Also, remember the Mayor. Be sure to offer the best deals to that individual. Not only will this encourage advocacy, but also create a competitive spirit around the title. It might just start some rivalries where the only way to get ahead is to frequent your business.
Your business might already have a Foursquare presence, so search on Foursquare.com to find out. You will find a link to “claim” your venue. From there, get started setting up your specials for users. Business owners can also promote their Foursquare presence in-store — the website offers downloadable PDFs and can send official window clings for display.
Foursquare can bring a significant increase in traffic and, ultimately, sales to any brick-and-mortar business. And Foursquare is about to reach even more users. In June, 2010, The Wall Street Journal started providing “add-to-Foursquare” buttons at the bottom of restaurant reviews and other cultural coverage. When a user clicks the button, the venue mentioned in the article is added to a to-do list on the user’s Foursquare account, along with a tip written by a WSJ editor and link to the original article. It’s a safe bet to assume that WSJ will not be the last major media outlet to promote the service.
In the end, the service offers a built-in community that is eager to engage. Help your customers check in, then check out.
Showing posts with label Location. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Location. Show all posts
Thursday, September 22, 2011
Sunday, August 21, 2011
Location based mobile apps
Loyalty programs or lead generation? you make the call. But I know I wasn’t headed in that direction until I checked in to Foursquare, Gowalla, shopkick, Loopt or one of the other geo-location services.
Critics have been quick to point out defects in the location-based strategy. Yes, the incentive to check in is pretty thin when your only reward is a badge or some other sort of honorific.
And, yes, the number of people who have downloaded the apps to their phones is relatively small. Foursquare, the category leader, has about 5 million downloads worldwide. That’s a sliver of the 60 million smartphone users in the U.S. alone—and doesn’t even take in the much larger U.S. audience (170 million or so) who are still using regular feature phones and can’t access the app.
The question is, are those objections true for your business? If you had customers who would respond to a location-based game and you could find a way to give them something valuable as a reward, would they check in?
They have for Murphy USA, a gas retailer based in El Dorado, Ark., that operates more than 1,000 kiosk-style gas outlets, most located next to or near Wal-Mart’s big boxes. Buying gas is not exactly the kind of activity you’d expect to tweet to your pals, or even enjoy. And frugal Wal-Mart shoppers might not seem a target audience
for a campaign that requires a smartphone and some mobile savvy.
Nevertheless, the company ran a promotion last July on the Whrrl location-based social network. Users who downloaded the app could check in at the pump and win instant prizes, from free beverages and discounts to a daily $50 gas giveaway.
Murphy, already active increating loyalty among brand fans, publicized the campaign on Facebook and Twitter. It also put up a point-of-sale message at the pumps, with instructions on how new users could get engaged with the Murphy community on Whrrl—or “society,” as the groups are known on the platform—and what they stood to win.
Customers who checked into the Murphy Whrrl society visited four times a month on average, and almost half of those checking in bellied up to the pump an average of six times a month. What’s more, the average fill-up ticket per visit by Whrrl users was $30—twice the industry average.
But the most amazing result was that the check-in drove new customer acquisition at an astounding rate. During the pilot period, 44 percent of those checking in to the brand’s society on Whrrl had never been to a Murphy station before.
Going with a location-based strategy was perhaps counter-intuitive. Murphy USA tracks Wal-Mart demographically and geographically, so the average customer is going to be female with a family. According to a Pew Internet survey in November, only 3 percent of women have used check-in services on mobile, compared with 6 percent of men.
On the other hand, an earlier survey by game maker PopCap found that 55 percent of the player base for social games—like FarmVille and Mafia Wars—are women, and their average age is 43. So maybe the best approach is to ignore the polls and the wisdom about edgy tactics and simply go out, see what your target prospects respond to and build a mobile promotion around that.
Critics have been quick to point out defects in the location-based strategy. Yes, the incentive to check in is pretty thin when your only reward is a badge or some other sort of honorific.
And, yes, the number of people who have downloaded the apps to their phones is relatively small. Foursquare, the category leader, has about 5 million downloads worldwide. That’s a sliver of the 60 million smartphone users in the U.S. alone—and doesn’t even take in the much larger U.S. audience (170 million or so) who are still using regular feature phones and can’t access the app.
The question is, are those objections true for your business? If you had customers who would respond to a location-based game and you could find a way to give them something valuable as a reward, would they check in?
They have for Murphy USA, a gas retailer based in El Dorado, Ark., that operates more than 1,000 kiosk-style gas outlets, most located next to or near Wal-Mart’s big boxes. Buying gas is not exactly the kind of activity you’d expect to tweet to your pals, or even enjoy. And frugal Wal-Mart shoppers might not seem a target audience
for a campaign that requires a smartphone and some mobile savvy.
Nevertheless, the company ran a promotion last July on the Whrrl location-based social network. Users who downloaded the app could check in at the pump and win instant prizes, from free beverages and discounts to a daily $50 gas giveaway.
Murphy, already active increating loyalty among brand fans, publicized the campaign on Facebook and Twitter. It also put up a point-of-sale message at the pumps, with instructions on how new users could get engaged with the Murphy community on Whrrl—or “society,” as the groups are known on the platform—and what they stood to win.
Customers who checked into the Murphy Whrrl society visited four times a month on average, and almost half of those checking in bellied up to the pump an average of six times a month. What’s more, the average fill-up ticket per visit by Whrrl users was $30—twice the industry average.
But the most amazing result was that the check-in drove new customer acquisition at an astounding rate. During the pilot period, 44 percent of those checking in to the brand’s society on Whrrl had never been to a Murphy station before.
Going with a location-based strategy was perhaps counter-intuitive. Murphy USA tracks Wal-Mart demographically and geographically, so the average customer is going to be female with a family. According to a Pew Internet survey in November, only 3 percent of women have used check-in services on mobile, compared with 6 percent of men.
On the other hand, an earlier survey by game maker PopCap found that 55 percent of the player base for social games—like FarmVille and Mafia Wars—are women, and their average age is 43. So maybe the best approach is to ignore the polls and the wisdom about edgy tactics and simply go out, see what your target prospects respond to and build a mobile promotion around that.
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Saturday, July 23, 2011
Location based data
Location-based data gathering has been a hot button topic in the last year. When it was found out that companies like Apple, Google, Facebook, and others were possibly collecting location data without people’s knowledge via mobile devices and other means, it raised a lot of questions as to what the data was being used for and why it was being collected. Since then, Apple came forward and said that the logging of location data on iPhones was a bug in the iOS that has since been fixed. Google, Facebook and many app makers in general have instituted more transparent personal information settings that include opting in or out of using location based data.
Still, uncertainties remain. Some application stores make it mandatory for apps to prompt downloaders that their location data will be used, but don’t require that the app explicitly indicate how that location data is being used. And because there isn’t an app approval process in the Android Market, some apps could possibly steal location data or other personal information before they can be pulled from the virtual store shelves.
But there are also positives to using location based data for consumers and companies alike. Whether serving up a list of nearby restaurants or identifying a meeting place on a map, location based data can provide many benefits. The key is to understand how it works, what it can be used for, and how to avoid potentially dangerous apps.
There are three main location gathering methods: cellular triangulation, Wi-Fi triangulation, and GPS. With cellular triangulation, a wireless provider can keep track of your mobile device’s location; this is constantly happening and, according to some analysts, it is quite accurate. With GPS, your device can find specific places close to you based on your current location.
Your mobile operator usually knows where you are with a great degree of precision, especially in urban areas, given how small cell site coverage areas can be as little as a block or two And whenever you use Wi-Fi, your location can usually be determined to within 50 to 100 feet given how small Wi-Fi coverage zones are.
There are many uses for location-based data that mobile users can take advantage of. One is with social media. You can geo-tag photos so people can see exactly where you were when you took a picture. And some apps provide a way for you to tell your friends or coworkers where you are. One such app is foursquare, which lets you check in to places so people can see where you are. You can see other foursquare users that are in the same location or close to it so you can meet up.
You can also use location data for navigation, entertainment, and more. Some apps let you use your current location to find businesses, restaurants, and other nearby places. And if you are ever in an accident or need help from 911, emergency responders can find your location using GPS.
One of the main reasons that businesses can benefit from using location-based data is through direct advertising, marketing, and promotions at individuals in specific areas. For instance, your company could engineer an app that asks a customer with a smartphone to let you use their location data to tell them where they can find your product in relation to their current location. You could also design an app that shows advertisements for local businesses and tell potential customers how to get them or literally show them using GPS navigation. Companies are already taking advantage of this and there is room for growth in the future.
To know where consumers are and capture that demographic information would allow them to use location-specific advertising. I think that wherever companies are allowed to do this, they will.
Regardless of what mobile device you have and the operating system it uses, there is always a chance you could download a malicious app. There are app approval systems in place that weed out most of the harmful apps, but it is still largely up to company transparency and consumer discretion.
As a company, you should always ensure that your app clearly says that it will use location data in some capacity and give the user the option to opt in or out. And consumers must look at their apps on a case by case basis to determine if it makes sense for them to use location data.
There are many apps that just ask whether you want to use it or not without any specifics. If you go through the list of apps that request approval to capture location data, some of them are understandable and others aren’t. So if I have an app where using that data doesn’t make sense, I won’t allow it.
Still, uncertainties remain. Some application stores make it mandatory for apps to prompt downloaders that their location data will be used, but don’t require that the app explicitly indicate how that location data is being used. And because there isn’t an app approval process in the Android Market, some apps could possibly steal location data or other personal information before they can be pulled from the virtual store shelves.
But there are also positives to using location based data for consumers and companies alike. Whether serving up a list of nearby restaurants or identifying a meeting place on a map, location based data can provide many benefits. The key is to understand how it works, what it can be used for, and how to avoid potentially dangerous apps.
There are three main location gathering methods: cellular triangulation, Wi-Fi triangulation, and GPS. With cellular triangulation, a wireless provider can keep track of your mobile device’s location; this is constantly happening and, according to some analysts, it is quite accurate. With GPS, your device can find specific places close to you based on your current location.
Your mobile operator usually knows where you are with a great degree of precision, especially in urban areas, given how small cell site coverage areas can be as little as a block or two And whenever you use Wi-Fi, your location can usually be determined to within 50 to 100 feet given how small Wi-Fi coverage zones are.
There are many uses for location-based data that mobile users can take advantage of. One is with social media. You can geo-tag photos so people can see exactly where you were when you took a picture. And some apps provide a way for you to tell your friends or coworkers where you are. One such app is foursquare, which lets you check in to places so people can see where you are. You can see other foursquare users that are in the same location or close to it so you can meet up.
You can also use location data for navigation, entertainment, and more. Some apps let you use your current location to find businesses, restaurants, and other nearby places. And if you are ever in an accident or need help from 911, emergency responders can find your location using GPS.
One of the main reasons that businesses can benefit from using location-based data is through direct advertising, marketing, and promotions at individuals in specific areas. For instance, your company could engineer an app that asks a customer with a smartphone to let you use their location data to tell them where they can find your product in relation to their current location. You could also design an app that shows advertisements for local businesses and tell potential customers how to get them or literally show them using GPS navigation. Companies are already taking advantage of this and there is room for growth in the future.
To know where consumers are and capture that demographic information would allow them to use location-specific advertising. I think that wherever companies are allowed to do this, they will.
Regardless of what mobile device you have and the operating system it uses, there is always a chance you could download a malicious app. There are app approval systems in place that weed out most of the harmful apps, but it is still largely up to company transparency and consumer discretion.
As a company, you should always ensure that your app clearly says that it will use location data in some capacity and give the user the option to opt in or out. And consumers must look at their apps on a case by case basis to determine if it makes sense for them to use location data.
There are many apps that just ask whether you want to use it or not without any specifics. If you go through the list of apps that request approval to capture location data, some of them are understandable and others aren’t. So if I have an app where using that data doesn’t make sense, I won’t allow it.
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