Example of Event Promotion with Foursquare

Dec
1

A few months ago, I wrote a post about Foursquare and how retailers should use it as a tool to drive customer loyalty on the social web. This is kind of a no brainer and I have actually experienced minimal buzz on a tweetup I put together last summer; a book signing with Brian Solis.

On my way to the office this morning, I stopped by Starbucks and did what I normally do when I arrive at my destination – check in on Foursquare. I was surprised to see the following:

Foursquare has been offering this (or similar advertising) to many local businesses for quite some time but this is the first time I have experienced it firsthand. Of course I clicked and this is what came next:

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The SparkAwards used Foursquare to drive awareness to their first multi-level design competition here in San Francisco at the Autodesk Gallery on November 4th. They even offered VIP tours to all who checked in on that day. After minimal research, I found that there have been 12 total check-ins with 10 unique visitors to the venue. Not the greatest set of metrics of course; but I am sure glad to see local businesses trying new things and experimenting on the social web.

Author: Michael Brito

Michael Brito is a Vice President of Social Media at Edelman Digital. All thoughts and opinions on this blog are his own and do not necessarily reflect those of his employer or clients; neither past or present. Feel free to follow him on Twitter or subscribe to this blog.

Chelsea Pearl

AutoDesk actually updated this particular promo for December, but I missed out on it because I was busy. I work on the next floor up.

Name

It is always nice to know that companies are not afraid to try new things when it comes to a social media tool. Social media is in its growing stage and is not going anywhere. It is a great way for businesses to interact and engage with their consumers. Its amazes me though, when a new form of social media is released, businesses tend to not learn and explore the benefits. They simply disregard the whole thing entirely. Social media is easy to use and can benefit a company greatly. It is nice to know that companies are chancing the new era of media and are seeing results. Social media is in its' developing stage. I am excited to see what next comes out that will be available for companies to use and how beneficial will it be. I enjoyed reading your blog posting, I will be checking back for future blogs.

sue_anne

Great example of @foursquare and how businesses can start to leverage it.

Anders Online Marketing

I am working with marketing in Denmark and is searching for inspiration in the digital world.

Thanks for inspiration.

Daniel Riveong

If you check in at San Francisco Centre, you'll get an offer for a free yogurt at some yogurt shop - if you go there and check in.

I've also seen offers for discounts or free drinks if you become Mayor of a location, as well as, notices that there's a bar across from the street that's having a happy hour.

Michael A. Stelzner

Hey Michael,

Sounds interesting. Were you thinking it was kind of odd that an add was delivered up almost a month after the event?

Mike

CoryOBrien

While I love to see Foursquare test out the 'Special Nearby' feature, I wish they'd swap out that Autodesk Gallery tag for something that's a little more recent. I see that tag every time I check into the Embarcadero BART station, and I keep clicking thinking it'll be something new, and it never is. It's been almost a month now, time to let the thing auto expire...