foursquare: using social media to grow your business

So we’ve talked about Facebook, Twitter, Klout and LinkedIn…today I wanted to give you “the low down” on foursquare and tell you why your small business should be using it. There are two different ways to utilize foursquare (depending on if you’re a venue owner or a brand). A venue owner is a business that has a location(s) where the majority of your business is done. A brand is something that might be sold at numerous locations (okay, so for example, bizznesscard is a brand because even though we have a location…you don’t come to our location to purchase our service).

Okay, so let’s breakdown how a venue owner can take advantage of foursquare…

First you must claim your venue. It’s very easy to do…just click on “claim your venue” and once you’re there, type in the name of your business and follow a couple of steps…and your done!

Once you have claimed your venue, you then can create a “special.” Here are some examples from foursquare on some of the most popular and successful types of specials and how they can benefit your business:

• A discount with purchase (something like, “spend $50 and get $10 off”). A great way to push your sales higher!
• Something for free (for example, “enjoy a free dessert if you buy an appetizer and main course”). These are often low-cost and high impact.
• Special treatment (one of our favorites is at a zoo: “check in on foursquare for private access to the penguin feeding”). These have no cost and create a great connection.
• Reward your best customers (the classic Special is, “free coffee on your fifth visit”). It’s like a digital punch card. And let’s be honest, who doesn’t like free coffee?

Besides being able to create specials for your venue, you also get access to a merchant dashboard that includes real-time data about your customers:

• Total daily check-ins over time
• Your most recent visitors
• Your most frequent visitors
• A gender breakdown of your customers
• What time of day people check in
• What portion of your venue’s foursquare check-ins are broadcast to Twitter and Facebook

If these features haven’t sold you, I invite you to take a look at case studies foursquare has available on their site.

Now, moving on to why a brand should be on foursquare…

foursquare offers four different ways a brand can take advantage of their community – pages, a “save to foursquare” button, partner badges,  and an API platform.

Let’s start with Pages…

Similar to other social media sites, you can create a brand page where your customers can “follow” your page. On your page, you have the ability to leave tips for your customers; customers can leave tips for others to see, as well. Also, make sure you add the “follow” button to your website so it’s easy for customers to reach you.

Save to foursquare…

This is a button you can add to your website so your visitors can easily get foursquare reminders from you when they’re near the places you suggest. When one of your visitors clicks the “Save to foursquare” button on your pages, it adds the contents to their “To-Do List” in foursquare. Then, when they’re out and about, foursquare Radar will buzz on their phone when they’re close to it. So if you have partners or your service/product is sold at a retail location, you can suggest they go to those places! If you would like some additional examples check them out here.

Partner Badges are next on the list…

Badges are digital achievements that a person gets for performing real-world actions that they’re proud of. (This is the only part of foursquare that has a fee attached to it…but can be great for brand recognition). If this is something you want to do for your brand, here are the parameters of designing a badge:

• Ubiquity of unlock locations – people should be able to unlock the badge in as many locales as possible; ideally across the US, or, better yet, global. A city-specific promotion is less than ideal.
• Offer some kind of “reward” or unique redemption opportunity – so people feel excited to unlock it.
• Present a clear story arc – explaining who can unlock the badge and what they have to do.
• Craft a promotional plan to support the badge – people should be excited to tell their friends. We tend to favor badges that offer lots of exposure for the promotion including offline marketing and television promotion.

Click here if you want to apply for a partner badge.

Last but not least…an API Platform…

foursquare has a super-flexible API. All of the features available in the foursquare mobile app are available via the API for whatever you want to build. Click here for further details.

Okay, so now it’s time to go get your venue or brand page set-up and start reaping the benefits of foursquare for your business. As always, if you get stuck or have any additional comments or questions, please comment below…or you can reach me @jerilynbizzness.

Related articles

• Foursquare Launches Business Pages for Small Businesses and Brands (hubspot.com)
• Foursquare’s Dennis Crowley: We’re More Than Just a Check-In Service(siliconfilter.com)
• Checking In: Which App Should I Use (mycricket.com)
• How Foursquare Grew To 15M Users (readwriteweb.com)

The 8 Famous Reindeer…Shoppers

Shoppers are like reindeer. They share the same nicknames and they all have distinct personalities. Let’s identify them and talk about what makes them “unique”.

Flickr by armadillo444

Dasher –

Don’t be this guy (or gal). You know the one…”dashing” into a store…last minute…just grabbing whatever to “have something” to give. Trust me, they’ll totally know you either re-gifted or you ran out of time. It’s a complete waste of time (though very little, since you spent almost none) and money (and who can afford to waste that these days?)

Dancer –

You’ve seen him (or her)…the one who’s always “searching for something artsy” to give to someone who’s, ummmm, not. Yeah, it’s great that you’re into the arts and that you want to share it but if you’re buying for a 12-year-old who spends every waking moment playing video games, you may wanna rethink the “artsy” gift. Maybe get a “classic” video game…accompanied by a card that explains “the evolution of video games and how the “original gamers” were artists who played Space Invaders…but that’s about as far as you should go here.

Prancer –

You know who this refers to…the person who “jumps to conclusions” and assumes that what they “stand for” matches who they’re buying for. Just because you’re into religion, politics or alternative medicine doesn’t mean the recipient is. C’mon, really…who wants to open up “the gift that keeps on giving…a retreat to a ‘Get Healthy, Naturally’ rally…in the Midwest…in February…”

Vixen –

Ahhhhh yes, the “vindictive” giver. You know her (or him)…the person who just has to “stir the pot” and buy that “special” gift for…the ex. Really, it’s in the past, sweetie (or snookums or whatever your pet name was). He or she broke it off…just move on. Sending them a “gag gift” may make you feel better initially…but the gift just may…stink.

Comet –

Sigh. Ummm, it’s great that you want “everybody to be a rising star” but not everyone’s cut out for Idol. A karaoke machine…really? That’s so last decade. Try something inspirational, like an iTunes card with plenty of dough on it…give the gift of music…by someone who can actually sing.

Cupid –

OMG…we talked about this. You just can’t give intimates to your grandma. It’s just wrong. In a word…eeeooooowwwwwww! Save the sexy stuff for your significant other…get grandma slippers. And if you “just can’t wait” to give your “office love” that special something, at least wait until after the company holiday party. Everyone’s watching…even when you’re in the coat closet. Think about it.

Donner –

Okay, seriously, just because you’re a legend at your high school…and your nickname is literally “The Donner”…concentrate…think about a gift that says “this century” rather than a Def Leopard CD. First of all, they probably already have that one…bought it in 1986. Second, “choice #2”…the one you almost went with…that yellow smiley face pillow…it doesn’t go with anything in their house. Plus, it just screams, “let’s get the band back together.”

Blitzen –

<takes a deep breath> How many times have we been over this? Listen, it’s great that you want to keep showing your “fun side” and that you “like to party” but $3.99 a case beer isn’t a great gift (unless you’re planning on giving it to a guy who’s going squirrel hunting on Dec. 26^th). Seriously, step up to the bottle of wine…it’s not much more…but it shows a bit more class. You get it.

Let me finish by saying, I’m not suggesting I’ve “got a gift” for gift giving, I’m just saying, you can do better than the 8 reindeer shoppers we all know are out there (and you’re undoubtedly getting a gift from one of them this holiday season).  You can send me questions about gift giving or send me comments if you’d like…just keep it clean. @danbizzness.

Related articles

• 13 Ridiculously Huge Makeup Gifts For Holiday Giving (bellasugar.com)
• Ta da! All in one place: your very own literary gift-giving guide. You’re welcome. (vouchedbooks.com)
• Those Reindeer’s Names… ~ by Gabby Angel (autumnsunshineandgabrielleangel.wordpress.com)

Our Favorite Social Media Tools of 2011

Okay so this year has been a big year for social media (I mean, if your company hasn’t jumped on the bandwagon yet, I suggest that be a goal for 2012). So as social media has grown, so has the number of tools out there to help manage your social media channels. This week I asked all of the bizznesscard team members to share what their “favorite social media tool.” So here we go…

Jill – our sr. director of marketing & media loves SnapApp – “it’s a great tool for social contests that offers a platform for sweepstakes, personality quizzes and more. It easily integrates with Facebook, Twitter, and Google+. It’s mobile-optimized and gives you real-time integration for marketers who want to auto-trigger e-mails and start the conversation immediately.”

Dan – director, brand initiatives loves TweetStats “…with TweetStats, you can take ‘what’s trending’ and apply it to a relevant tweet about, for example…your brand. Like, you could be in a mode where you want to tweet about PR and TweetStats can indicate that ‘#goodhair’ is ‘trending’ (meaning lost of people are using that hashtag in their tweets). Your tweet could then say something like, ‘PR is like #goodhair…the more you style it, the more attention you bring to your brand.’ This gives you a decent shot at someone retweeting you, etc. (and just may get you a new follower).

Terri – director, business development loves echofon. “echofan is a tweet application that can manage multiple twitter accounts (individually) and sync between multiple devices. What features do I like the most…its search functionality, as well as the detailed profiles. This is a free application through iTunes and can also be downloaded to your computer.”

Marcus – our graphic designer and resident nerd loves Google “…it does everything, it adds, subtracts, coverts, measures, integrates, etc.…With Google+ it’s getting better at mapping human interaction and identifying relationships.”

Wendy – our sales & marketing intern, loves TweetDeck – for these 3 reasons “….it’s available on her desktop and from her iPhone (she has the new 4S…and yes I’m jealous), it syncs to multiple twitter accounts and you can personalize the user interface.”

Jerilyn – I’m the blog writer & social media manager, and I love so many tools but since I only let everyone else pick one, it’s only fair I pick just one. I love HootSuite. Why? “First and foremost, I love me some HootSuite because I hold a special place in my heart for owls. But, on the nitty-gritty, I love their reports…they look super professional and give some decent analytics with not so much work from your end. I also like the ease of use and since I handle multiple accounts that’s important to me. I also like the clean look and how it’s easy to schedule tweets ahead.”

So, now that you know what are favorite social media tools are…please share what your favorites are!

Related articles

• Who tops HootSuite’s 2011 popularity list? (theglobeandmail.com)
• Using Social Media to Generate Revenue (ITA Fall Collaborative 2011 Session) (summitdiary.com)
• Social Media And Your New Years Resolution (stealthisfirst.wordpress.com)

How to Conduct a Social Media Audit

via Flickr by j0nny_t

It’s a great time of the year to conduct a social media audit…so you can start the New Year out with a bang. I mean, who doesn’t like to start the New Year fresh? Okay, so let’s review what you should look at so you know you’re using the right channels and “spreading the right message” for your brand.

What are you searching for in this social media audit?

KEYWORDS related to these 5 areas:

Brand

Products

Company                   

Employees

Industry Keywords

Remember, when you’re searching for these 5 things, you’re looking for both your company and your top competitors.   

Where are you searching for these keywords in this social media audit?

Industry blogs

New York Times

Twitter

Facebook

LinkedIn

Yahoo Answers

Pretty much anywhere you think (or know) you or your competition is online.

Things to consider when gathering information during your audit…

First…what are people saying?

Are they talking about difficulties they are having with a certain brand or product?

If so,what platform are they talking about it on?

You should look at the sentiment of the information (is it positive or negative)

Another factor to keep in mind: the location of the information – is it local, national or international?

Tools you can use to gather the information…

Google Alerts

Social Mention

RSS Feeds

Yahoo Pipes

Have any other tools that work great for your brand? If so, please share since the number of tools out there is in the 100’s…if not 1,000’s!

Now it’s time to put all the information you gathered into action!

You can generate sales leads! I mean, isn’t the point of all marketing to get more sales?

You can use it for customer service. It’s an easy and affordable way to answer questions and get information to your customers quickly and numerous customers at the same time

For responding to criticism…don’t ignore it, whether it’s about your brand or one of your competitors. Take those lemons and turn it into lemonade!

To identify influencers/brand evangelists…now you know who loves which products, brands, etc. in your industry…so get those people who love you to continue to talk about you and share it with others!

So now it’s time for you to take the plunge and audit your social media efforts as wells as your competitors…if you get stuck on any part of your audit…just ask me, I’ll be happy to help you out! After all, it is the season of giving! “Just hear those sleigh bills ringlin’, jing jing jingling, too, come on it’s lovely weather …”

 

           

10 GREAT blog ideas!

Needing some fresh topics to finish out 2011…with a bang?

Here’s a list of some ideas. Get your “creative juices” flowing for the last few weeks of 2012…blog, people, blog!

via Flickr by sam_churchill

10. Conference Reports – did you go to an interesting conference recently? Attend a great trade show or networking event? Maybe you got “shusssshhhed” by the cranky lady in front of you…share it with your readers…tie some great content into the humor. I know I like to!

9. Breaking News – did something really cool happen in your industry or in your business? Be the first to share it. Or, write an opinion piece on some breaking news that would grab your reader’s attention!

8. Commentary on Someone Else’s Post  – did you see a really great post on something but it doesn’t exactly relate to small business? Tie it in, man…or woman – write how it does relate to small business.

7. Guest Post – Have a new vendor or customer…have them write a guest post about their product or experience…why not! Maybe they’ve invented a new candy bar…maybe its called ThunderBars…

6. Interviews – video interviews too – Videos are a great tool…so easy to do these days. Remember, YouTube is the second largest search engine out there. Catch your coworkers doing something…ba bam…it’s on video, now (be sure to get their consent though…before you post it).

5. Presentations – did you do a presentation recently? If so, make sure you share it with the rest of your readers by posting it on slideshare and then blogging about it!

4. Series of Posts – this time of year, you could do a count down to the New Year, or if you celebrate Christmas, you could do “The 12 days of Christmas” and post all your best selling products for gift ideas for the holiday season.

3. Product Review – with all the new funny gifts and gadgets out this time of year, write about some of the new ones you’ve purchased! Don’t be afraid to say it…you love owls…you bought an owl hat!

2. FYI Posts – Do you have extended hours or are you closed the week between Christmas and New Years? Blog about it so your customers are aware of the holiday schedule…even brag a little…you’ve worked hard this year…you’ve earned it!

1. Top 10 Lists – What are your favorite things from 2011 or what are you looking forward to the most in 2012? Share it with your customers through a blog! Maybe you’re looking forward to writing all the aforementioned blogs…could happen!

Okay, so there are 10 GREAT ideas on things you can blog about before 2012 hits. Have any other great ideas? Share them…I’m always looking for fresh ideas!

12 TIPS FOR INCREASING FAN ENGAGEMENT

Flickr by Brittany G

Yes, I’m engaged (to a wonderful man named Eric) but this kind of engagement is centered on your biz. I want to share with you some tips (one’s I use personally) to help gain traction and increase fan engagement through social media.

Okay, then, here they are:

1. Potential fans love questions…but use less than 60 characters to get more comments.
2.  Photos/video generally outperform links.
3.  When posting photos, post 3 pictures…not 1!
4.  Target people you would like to share your content with. Share, retweet or “like” something of theirs…before you post. When they see you sharing or commenting on their content, they may do the same for you.
5.  Get things to share that are “hot” right now by checking sites that track share popularity, such as “LinkedIn Today” “BuzzFeed” or “PopURLs.”
6.  Award a prize to…the first (X number of people) who answer a question about your company correctly. This gets people writing about you…while they learn more about your company.
7.  Join relevant Facebook and LinkedIn groups, and participate in relevant Twitter chats.
8.  Poll your audience on pop culture facts, industry news, their daily life or habits…or whatevs…you get the idea, here.
9.  Tweet about Twitter…on Twitter, update about Facebook…on Facebook. Tweets about Twitter (in particular) get a lot of engagement (clicks, comments and retweets).
10.  Keep Tweets short (under 110 characters) to allow room for people who add comments to their retweets.
11.  Add a “call-to-action” to follow/fan your social media accounts to everything you do. E-mail signature, business card, etc. Be sure you have Twitter/Facebook “share” buttons on your site.
12.  Links (placed a quarter of the way through the tweet) get the most clicks.

Do you have any other tips that have worked for you when it comes to increasing engagement? If so…share! C’mon, it’s the season…for giving!

Related articles

• 20 Ways to Increase Content Visibility on the Top 4 Social Networks (hubspot.com)
• 5 Ways To Double Your Social Media Results (hubspot.com)

Happy Thanksgiving!

We’d like to wish you all a VERY Happy Thanksgiving! We got together and all wrote down what we’re most thankful for this year…here it goes…

Scott Curry – My family is what I’m most thankful for, Tara, Sydney and Michaela make everyday more rewarding and I’m so grateful to have them a part of my life… My parents and brother are a source of great strength and support.  I’m also thankful for an amazing team that I have the pleasure to work with and learn from everyday.

Dan Kirk – In addition to flexibility in my work, I am thankful for health and happiness. Cheesy, I know. Do I care? Nope. I am grateful for the fact that I have a close relationship with my dad, my brother and my sisters. And I am honored that I get to wake up in the morning knowing that I have spent the past 13 years with my amazing (really, kick ass…no kidding) partner. Next year, I am completely thankful for the millions of dollars I’ll win in the lottery…this year, though…

Jerilyn Kruger – I’m thankful for my sisters and parents…they’re always there for me. I’m also thankful for my job. Throughout the year, it’s grown into a number of different things. I enjoy each area of it very much…not too many people can say they enjoy going to work everyday…I can. Besides those things, this year I’m most thankful for my new little family (Eric, Bella…our English Bulldog…and me). This year started out with us building our family. Throughout the year, it’s grown stronger than ever. So…that’s what I’m thankful for!

Terri O’Shaughnessy – This year, I am truly grateful for my amazing and supportive friends. This year has been full of transition…new job…new city…  So many great people stepped up to help me through it. I am also grateful for my job. While there’s so many people looking for work, I not only have a great job, but it’s a job that I love…a place where I’m given the opportunity to be a contributor every day. And lastly, I am most grateful for my strong relationships with my family, especially my dad…and that we will be able to spend the Thanksgiving holiday together!

Wendy Barnes – I am thankful for my health and the health of my family. I know this sounds so generic, but after careful thought, this is really exactly what I am MOST thankful for. I am also thankful for the opportunity I’ve been given to learn at bizznesscard! I mean who doesn’t enjoy learning about marketing from this crew?

Marcus Shields – I’m thankful for friends, family and laptops.

Now that you know what all we’re thankful for, please share what YOU are most thankful for this year!

Related articles

• Happy Thanksgiving! (millicentmouse.wordpress.com)
• Happy Thanksgiving Everyone! What Are You Thankful For? (blogher.com)