Foursquare is a social media site that allows people to check into whatever location they are at and write a blurb about their experience. Other people can also see who has checked into the same place as them and who may be using the app at the same time at the same place. For marketers, this is the perfect tool to understand just who their target audience is. Not only can marketers see who is visiting their place of business, they can also see what peoples' experience was, customers' demo/psychographics, when customers are checking in, what they look like, who is visiting their competitors' and why. All of these tools have been fit into one simple website.
Foursquare not only benefits the marketers, but even greater it can benefit the user. As a user checks into more and more places Foursquare gets to know the person and their interests. Eventually, as the site grows, marketers will be able to offer coupons to fit every individual's interest. If a person checks into the gym often, Foursquare can offer a coupon to the local health store. The effectiveness of the coupon can be measured by how many people checked into that health store who received the coupon.
This is a completely untapped marketing tool, that within the next few years will likely be as big as Facebook or Twitter.
This is how Synectics Media in Detroit is using Foursquare to help understand their audience.
This is a great informational blog. I have heard about Foursquare in many of my Marketing classes, and have always been told to join. This is a great way to connect the company to their customers. Foursquare not only tells the company who is visiting their business, but also gives them a lot of feedback. I think that is the biggest advantage of this site for the business. If a company is having trouble meeting the consumers needs they will quickly find out through the comments that are given how to fix the problem. This also gives consumers the chance to give feedback without worrying about talking face-to-face with a manager or employee.
ReplyDeleteThis was a nice blog informing me of something I had heard of but did not know what it was about. I follow a couple of people on roommates on campus on twitter, and are checking into their room frequently, becoming "mayor" of the room.
ReplyDeleteThis another online feature that can now be useful for companies, as they can see where consumers are checking in. If companies and marketers can see where consumers are going, then they are obviously able to market better, or see where they may place advertising or new locations (to get more views or receive more business).
Foursquare is definitely on the rise. I have known about it for quite a while now, but haven't invested the time to set up an account. It's a great application because it benefits the business and the consumer. Businesses benefit because they can find out about their target audience and consumers benefit because they can receive discounts on their purchases. I hope to join Foursquare and reap the benefits just like many others are doing now.
ReplyDelete3 things:
ReplyDelete1. Don't assume your audience hasn't used Foursquare, especially if they're marketing communications students/involved in communications at all, chances are, they've heard of it/already use it. And if they haven't, they clearly don't care about communications enough to stay on top of the trends...
2. Foursquare does not offer coupons to the user, the location/business does. They have to register their location with the Foursquare database to be able to offer a special deal. Only then can a Foursquare user receive the special after a check-in. (and even then, you only receive specials when you've visited so many times/have become the mayor of a location).
3. Yes, Foursquare is being utilized by marketers to gauge the effectiveness of their business to frequent users. And yes, the site will continue to grow just as other social media sites have. But it's hard to say that businesses are using this tool to better understand their target audience. A business will likely position itself to be appealing to a certain target when it first opens its doors. Unless they dramatically change what they offer, a business should have a pretty good understanding of their target from the start. Where Foursquare comes in handy is seeing who is a frequent customer, how often they come in and what kinds of things are popular with customers.
As a Foursquare user myself, it's a lot more than being part of a marketing evaluation tool. Foursquare is about connectivity and fun, just like other social medias, not so much about being part of a study.
I agree with Erin. Don't assume that the audience hasn't used Foursquare. I would say, just from seeing the amounts of "checkins" via Facebook and Twitter, that Foursquare is taking off quick and is quite possibly part of the top 10 social media platforms used.
ReplyDeleteAgain, Erin makes another great point. The app allows for people to check in places so when the businesses see that the consumer has checked in, the business can give a reward to the consumer.
I do think that Foursquare has a big part in figuring out who is where and what businesses are NOW trending. This is competitive with the other social media platforms for the fact that it is almost like a competition and makes it more fun while still allowing businesses to retain some information about their consumers.
I have yet to take on Foursquare, but still think it is "trending" and very competitive with other social media platforms.