Location Based Marketing Strategies

Location based marketing & digital strategies you can use. WhatDidEricSay.com

Category Archives: Foursquare

5 Coolest Activity & Location Based Apps You Need On your Phone

Here are 5 of the coolest activity & location based apps you need on your phone.

Why? These are among the first apps to appeal to your specific interests. Personal networks satisfy our need for acceptance and belonging. However, that’s only half of the social equation.

These are fragmented connections with regards to our personal activities. Think about your own connections for a moment; Family, childhood friends, college friends, co-workers, people you’re not even sure where & how you met. All different interests…

Check out these fun activity & location based apps. They’re all about sharing the stuff you enjoy with people who have similar interests. And ultimately, rewarding you for sharing your activity. (Those looking to raise the privacy issue, save it. Don’t share your activities. Problem solved.)

FoodspottingFoodSpotting: Activity/Location based. We all eat. And, everyone’s Mother always said don’t play with your food. Here’s your chance to share unique food, great places to eat at and play with your food, all at the same time. Nom foods you like, earn tips and unlock badges when you find great stuff by following food guides.

Lots of fun & a killer app/website. Incredible marketing opportunities for brands & restaurants.

TIP: Connect your Foursquare account to unlock even more rewards. Download FoodSpotting.

 

GetGlueGetGlue: Activity based. Check-in & share what entertains you: Books, movies, TV, music, video games, celebrities, wine and celebrities. Rate, review & become a Guru. Haven’t seen any real-life rewards. Yet.

TIP: Unlock 15 stickers & they’ll send you real stickers. Download GetGlue.

Untappd: Drink Socially

Untappd: Location based Put simply: “Foursquare for beer lovers.” Having a beer? Share it, toast it and earn badges. Great location based, product specific marketing opportunities for bars & restaurants. Nothing to download as it’s not an app, rather a mobile site: Untappd.com

TIP: Pick your connections wisely.

PhiloPhilo: Activity based. Couch potatoes rejoice. Check in & share your favorite TV shows. Nice start with the marketing by introducing real-life contests, prizes and rewards.

TIP: Sign up for the email newsletters to find out about the newest promotions. Download Philo.

CarZarCarZar: Location based. 1st location based social automotive app. Lots of people take pictures of cool & interesting cars; even more enjoy looking at them.  Share your pictures with your networks, unlock badges, add your location and connect with other car fans.

The stage is set to provide automotive related rewards, creating unlimited marketing opportunities for car enthusiasts, car dealers, automotive parts retailers and the manufacturers. Use the CarZar web app if you don’t have an iPhone.

TIP: Don’t know what type of car you just spotted? Select “Help tag it!” and other users can name it for you. Disclosure: I created CarZar with Jared Hamilton. So, you better download CarZar:)

If you’re already checking-in via Foursquare, why not share the new food and movie you saw, throw in the cool car you spotted afterwards – at the bar where you tried a different micro-beer? This is a trend that will continue to grow as more brand and businesses offer check-in rewards. Stay tuned…

New apps continue to hit the market every day, all adding a new layer of fun and uniqueness to the things we do.

Which activity & location based apps are you using? What’s your take on all this?

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Foursquare Marketing Hits and Misses: 5 Case Studies

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Image by dpstyles™ via Flickr

If your business involves food, alcohol and any gathering space which combine those two elements you’re a prime candidate for a winning location based promotion.

This could become the barometer for the state of location based programs; as more “social” locations continue to use these concepts, the faster consumer acceptance will rise, eventually leading to more & more businesses jumping on board.

Take a look at these 5 Case Studies – each one showing unique ways to leverage promotions and make them as effective as possible.

Amplify’d from www.clickz.com

Foursquare Marketing Hits and Misses: 5 Case Studies

Read more at www.clickz.com
See this Amp at http://amplify.com/u/bft5

 

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Case Study: McDonald’s ups foot traffic 33% on Foursquare Day

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More foot traffic. That’s what every business wants.

Knowing that over 18,000 people per day are signing up for Foursquare daily and even lesser known location based services such as SCVNGR signed up 100K+ in one week because of their Facebook Places tie-in, wouldn’t you want to consider the opportunities these channels may provide your brand? Yet businesses are still reluctant. Now is the time for the self-proclaimed Social Media Gurus to put their chops to work and create some serious change by leveraging the networks they (should) have been building.

A simple offer with a simple message and a small budget is all that’s needed. Start putting that influence to work. Being first to market this type of message is easy, but the window of opportunity to be that shape-shifter won’t last.

And yes, I understand that measuring foot traffic is difficult. The rest of your process needs to be in place to handle (close the sale) the increased foot traffic. Done right, more foot traffic should create a direct increase in revenue. If you’re missing that point, then you shouldn’t be using location based services in the first place

Check out the link to the entire McDonald’s Case Study below to see how their simple plan created measurable results in no time.

Amplify’d from econsultancy.com

Case Study: McDonald’s ups foot traffic 33% on Foursquare Day

Read more at econsultancy.com
See this Amp at http://amplify.com/u/ameu

 

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How To Unlock 5 New Foursquare Badges

I like Foursquare’s newest badge strategy.

Five new badges can be unlocked using the location based service – all centered around activity on college campuses. This goes after the college niche user, who Facebook may already have lost, while creating newer experiences for students. Another angle is the marketing exposure created by the schools pre-selected as participants – especially for the college stadium check-ins.

I see the annual Foursquare Championship Bowl in our future. Here’s the list of participating schools.

I’m sure more will be added. Here’s my plug for RIT, UofR, MCC & all of the SUNY Schools.

New Foursquare Badges:

Campus Explorer: You’ve travelled far and wide to explore every corner of campus – all without getting scurvy. Magellan’s got nothing on you!

Munchies: That’s 5 check-ins at campus dining halls. You must be a Grilled Cheese connoisseur. You deserve a TV Show!

Smells Like School Spirit: Woah! That’s your 5th check-in showing your school pride. You’re a super fan! Now remember to wash off that face paint before you go to bed – huge mistake!

Quad Squatter: That’s your 10th check-in at the Quad. Either you’re majoring in Botany, or you just gave up on class altogether.

Bookworm Bender: Looks like you’re throwing a late night bender at the library. Ain’t no party like a Pythagorean Theorem party!

2 New Twitter Features. 1 Excellent. 1 Meh.

So what’s twitter been working on recently?

1st item – Location Based Tweets. (The meh choice)

This is probably the only location based marketing feature I don’t even notice. Why? Users can put their location in their bio. Sure – it may not represent their current location, but of all things location, this is not a concern. And, I’m fairly confident nobody else cares where my message originates…

I’m sure this is simply the raw form of something bigger to come – say, integration into a specific service like Google maps; real-time tweets within a check-in based platform a’la Foursquare or Gowalla may be more interesting & relevant. Knowing where someone is when they shriek about Justin Bieber in a tweet is not important to me. Or the rest of the country over 17.

2nd item –  Recommended People to Follow. (The excellent choice)

A sharp conversation with my friend Mike Johansson got me thinking about this deeper. Twitter now provides suggestions as to who you may want to follow. Why show recommended choices? And why does it work? Mike & were in agreement that it played more on Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs. This level of the Needs Pyramid would be Esteem; the need to respect others or be respected by others.

Yes – the whole debate over Maslow and twitter’s success has been played out over the years. But – this finally provides a new visual motivation for users. It could be the face of someone they are intrigued by, someone they have heard of or better yet – a brand they may not have thought about seeking out via twitter – but are now aware.

Either way – I find this element fascinating. Yet, their location…not so much. Hopefully the brands will embrace it though. Location based marketing strategies will continue to drive new life into otherwise lame consumer experiences.

What do you think of these new features?

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How To Unlock Every Foursquare Badge

At first, everyone says Foursquare badges are stupid. Next thing you know, those same people are flashing their badges in your face.

Want to unlock more Foursquare badges? Here’s the most detailed list of badges, including active & inactive badges and how to get them. Hat Tip to Chaunce Dolan – nice work!

How To Unlock Every Foursquare Badge

Now go be nerdy. The brands behind the badges love it when you play in their location based marketing games…

 

Why do you play?

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20 Interesting Things: Foursquare Uses

The Social Media train left the station a long time ago. Stop chasing it. Stop trying to “decide” if its for you.

A new train has been pulling away and it’s headed everywhere. Everywhere consumers are that is. It can be in the form of Foursquare, Gowalla, Loopt, Rally Up, Whrrl, SCVNGR, MyTown, Miso, Mopho or Google’s geolocation API.

Confused about location? Curious about it’s utility? Simply tired of reading stale SM content? Here’s a great presentation deck showing 20 excellent examples of brands leveraging location beyond a special for the Mayor. (Credit to: David Stutts – Digital Enthusiast)

 

 

20 Interesting Things: Foursquare

 

View more presentations from David Stutts.

 

 

 

What do you think? Interested in your thoughts on location based marketing…

[Originally posted on DrivingSales.com - The largest Car Dealer Social Network in the industry]

Lakers + Foursquare = New Badge

As expected, here’s another excellent example of major brands leveraging location based marketing: The Los Angeles Lakers teamed up with Foursquare and created a simple way for Lakers fans to show their support. And also a brilliant way for Foursquare to continue building its own presence within one of the largest cities in the US. (CBS also gets dragged into this)

If you’re a fan, simply shout: “Go Lakers” within Foursquare to unlock the Los Angeles Lakers Badge within Foursquare.

This is just the start; as organizations begin to see the benefit look for more location based marketing strategies to pop up. Look for more Foursquare badges as well…

Have you noticed any other new Foursquare badges?

(Oh yea – and if you’re a Celtics fan, they didn’t forget about you. Shout “Go Celtics” and show your support as well.)

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