What are you doing to capture your clients’ attention using Internet marketing? Facebook, Twitter, email, text messages? With the growing use of smartphones and the web, there are always new ways to engage and target your customers using innovative applications. This month, I will discuss Foursquare and how to use it to capture customers.
What is Foursquare? It’s a free app that users can download to their cell phones or log into via the web. This allows consumers to make the most of where they are: they share their current location with their friends and the app saves the places they most frequently visit. Foursquare has a community base of over 30 million people and over 3 billion check-ins. There are more than a million businesses using the merchant platform at this time with more being added every day.
So, you’re asking yourself, What’s a check-in and how could it help my salon? Once the consumer downloads the app and builds a profile, they are able to start checking in at any location they visit. Every time they visit your salon and check in, they gain points. With every check-in, consumers are battling with their friends, family and others to gain the most points in order to become the “Mayor” of that establishment. The mayor is the user that currently has the most check-ins at a particular establishment. Every time someone checks in at a location, every one of their friends within their profile sees their check-in. This app also allows people to sync their check-ins with Facebook and Twitter and include people they are with.
Now that you understand the basics of the how the app works, let’s look at setting up your salon on Foursquare. Foursquare has many free tools that will help drive business awareness and engage your customers to the fullest potential.
The first thing that you want to do is build your presence. You will need to create “Home” on Foursquare by launching a page. By doing this, you’re able to engage with you customers and grow your potential customer base. Your Home page is going to be the destination for your customers. It will provide them with pertinent information such as how to find you and what deals you are offering.
Once you create the brand page, make sure that you start to provide fans with content and offers that attract them to your business. Anything you create here is then pushed to the customers’ phones as they explore what is around them. This info is also published online using your brand page for anyone to view.
People are always looking for a deal! The next important thing is to offer a check-in special to create excitement around your establishment. For example, you could offer that for every five check-ins, your customer gets a free upgrade on that session. Maybe you provide the mayor of your salon a 20% discount off your lotions during their term as mayor. The mayor could change every week or even daily depending on the interaction you have on check-ins.
Don’t forget to tell your fans that you are a part of Foursquare! You can add a “like” button to your website, have a window cling on your door, or even a sign on the front counter. The more you talk it up, the more people are going to use it and the more interactions you will get.
The best part about utilizing all the options of Foursquare is that you only pay them if your customers visit your establishment using the check-in method or if they redeem a special. This way, you reach people who are ready to buy and eliminate them from visiting your competition. By being a part of Foursquare, anyone who is nearby and searching for something related to your salon will populate the search. Of people who search locally on their phones, 78% make a purchase of some kind.
