Make Foursquare Work for Your Small Business

So, you've finally gotten around to considering social media such as Facebook and Twitter as seats on your marketing ferris wheel, but you've noticed some Tweets that say something like "I'm at Wal-Mart" with a link to a "venue" page on some website called Foursquare.

Congratulations! You've just been introduced to the hottest social media trend of 2010! What should you be doing next?

No matter how you feel about location-based social media, Foursquare is shaping up to be the next Twitter. It caters directly to the people who like to know if their friends are in the same store as them, but more importantly it allows people to find out tips about the area they are in without really having to search.

So, what does this mean for your small business? If you have a physical business, such as a retail store, bar, theater, restaurant, etc, you should really consider using Foursquare to market your business and help foster customer loyalty.

The first thing your should do is get on Foursquare and see if your business is listed. If it is, you should claim ownership of it and Foursquare will go through a process to verify that you are, in fact, the owner. If it is not, then add it. For either of these options, you will need to already have a personal account (which is easy to set up and can integrate with Facebook and Twitter if you want).

So now that you have taken the two minutes out of your days to set up your venue page (that also ranks in search engine results, by the way), what is next? Begin interacting with your customers!

The first thing to keep in mind is that one of the main underlying functions of Foursquare is that it is a game. Users compete for "Mayorships" of businesses by checking in the most over a period of 60 days. After becoming the "Mayor" of a business, some of these users will work hard to defend that position by revisiting that business as often as they can.

There are two ways to reward visitors for their check-ins. The first is to offer a special of some sort just for checking in on Foursquare (and, depending on your business, maybe restricting that to frequency of check-ins or a certain milestone of check-ins, etc). Another I would recommend is rewarding Mayors for obtaining their status by offering them something extra special that will make them want to frequent your business just to get that item or discount (or freebie).

You might also consider giving tips about your business, such as the Special of the Day or a discount you are running only for people who mention that tip. This can entice people in the area to visit your business rather than the competitor down the street. Likewise, you might give tips about area attractions, or maybe even other non-competing businesses in your area (especially if you are in a small town).

Use Foursquare to interact with your customers. You will be able to see what they are saying about your business, which will help you improve your business. You will also build loyalty by giving them extra incentives to choose you over your competitors.