When Foursquare started, it was really only available for B2C Businesses with a retail or hospitality face, like clothing stores, hotels, cafes, bars and restaurants. However, as demand has grown for businesses without a customer-facing premises or B2B, so has Foursquare evolved.
For some months now, Foursquare has been offering businesses the opportunity to set themselves up at a brand that people can follow, rather than a business where people can physically “check-in”. For strong brands and mass markets this has proven to be very successful.
At this stage, it is not certain the place that small businesses, without strong branding, can fit into the picture. But it goes to show the possibilities of offering a solution for all kinds of businesses using Foursquare in their online marketing.
How Can a Brand Work in Foursquare?
For businesses or products that are set up as a brand, Foursquare provides two main marketing tools – Pages and Custom Badges. Both of these should help lead customers and fans to do interesting things in their neighborhoods and communities.
Pages – On the page, a brand is not encouraged to check into venues, but only to leave tips and advice on other venues. Then fans following the brand can see the tips and then add them to their to do list, or mark that they have done it.
Custom Badges – Previously badges have been given for the check-in activity that someone has made using Foursquare. But now following the tips of a brand page can unlock some new badges related directly to the brand. For example, The History Channel page, in US if you check into various venues you can unlock the Historian Badge, or in the UK you can unlock the History Love London Badge.
The Process to Set Up a Brand
The process is very simple to set up a brand with Foursquare. However still each “brand” application is still approved by an actual person, and can take a few weeks to be approved. You can download the application here.
1. First you need to set up your page using your Twitter account (so you need to be using Twitter for your business first). Then your custom Foursquare page address will end with the same name as your Twitter account.
2. After your page is approved, or even before, you can start leaving “Tips” on places for fans of your brand. Directly from Foursquare, they suggest:
- Tips should be interesting, clever, and worthwhile nuggets of information (like a tweet) tied to a specific location.
- Tips can be actionable: Go here. Order this. Ask for extra of that.
- Good tips share insider info, like specific dishes, drinks, or secret details. Bad tips are just descriptions of what a user can see themselves.
3. Integrate your Foursquare brand with your other social networking and online marketing activities. Put your link on your website, add it to your Facebook page, put it in email signatures, and tweet it to your twitter followers. You can really only get out of Foursquare as much effort as you put in.
4. Create a Partner Badge. Allowing your fans to unlock badges directly related to your business brand, is the best part of Foursquare’s brand pages. Of course, not just any business can make their own badge. The badge needs to adhere to Foursquare’s guidelines:
- It must be an earned reward. People should be excited to earn your badge. The badge alone isn’t the reward; it’s the journey that your followers take culminating in “unlocking” your badge that counts most. Unlocking a badge should create a feeling of delight and accomplishment in your followers.
- Do it again. Unlocking badges should reward a behaviour pattern from your customers, not just one action. Getting a badge just for showing up is too easy to be fulfilling.
- Relevant to lots of followers. Your badge should be unlockable by a wide audience; it should appeal to users in Kansas and California, not just New York or Paris. After all, Partner Badges are only available to your followers.
- Plan ahead. Badges take time. From a technical perspective, we need a considerable amount of time to get a good badge into the system.
Overall Foursquare can be a great, fun way to build followers and fans of your business brand online. And it can really get you thinking and getting creative with ways to give back.
Here are some examples of successful brands on Foursquare:
1. Mashable
Mashable has been the leader in the social media arena for quite some time, and they have really developed some loyal fans and what I call “follow zombies” who don’t seem to tweet anybody else.
Still, they have a great presence on Foursquare:
2. The Wall Street Journal
The Wall Street Journal takes a lot of pride in their city, leaving tips around New York, and creating opportunities for unique badges to be collected.
3. Fast Company
Fast Company leaves tips all over US, and even a few other countries, featuring places around the globe where some of their Most Innovative Companies of 2010 got their inspiration from. Places range from convention centers, to landmarks, to restaurants.
4. Ellen Degeneres
Ellen has really embraced social media, especially Foursquare. Once following the page, fans can see Ellen’s tips of all her favourite spots around the world. Followers can even unlock badges and win tickets to attend her live show.
5. Queensland
Even though the US brands are leading the field, the Aussies are jumping in, especially with tourism for Queensland. And after all the recent natural disasters – floods and cyclones – the promotion is definitely needed, so well done helping promote Queensland and encouraging the tourists back!
The page is a little like a tour guide, giving you insider tips to visiting Queensland.
6. TimeOut Sydney
Currently not offering any badges, TimeOut Sydney is still a great brand to follow to get tips of fun things to do in Sydney.
7. Blogher
Reaching more than 23 million women each month, BlogHer is the largest online community of women who blog. Currently all tips are for San Francisco in California, since that is where the big annual event was. It will be interesting to see how this brand page evolves.
8. In Your Pocket
Follow the In Your Pocket city guides and discover Europe’s hidden gems. Collect badges and get insider tips across Europe from Athens to Zurich and Belfast to Bucharest.
9. Sony
Follow Sony on Foursquare for tips on the best places to create your own make-believe experiences, and check back regularly for upcoming specials, exclusive contests and events.
10. Hamilton Island
Get the latest tips and advice on Hamilton Island. The page will be assisting island guests and visitors with the best tips and tricks while on holidays in the beautiful Whitsundays.
For more information please visit Foursquare’s brands webpage.
Could your business be a Foursquare brand? How can you give tips and reward your fans and followers? How do you think Foursquare is evolving? Can ALL businesses now use Foursquare?
Please share your thoughts below.
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