Social Media Marketing - Foursquare or GoWalla For Business?
Posted by Jody Raines
Social Media marketing is about the art of engaging. It's a continuing evolution and the tools of Internet Marketing can go in and out of favor quickly. The sweetheart applications these days are geo-based Foursquare and Gowalla, both location-based 
Twitter-like apps.
As a business owner, the questions I'd ask is whether either of these applications are valuable in the arsenal of ways to reach my prospects, and if so, how would I effectively use them?
First, let's take a look at why these social media channels are important...
According to
TechCrunch, some interesting statistics on the growth of Foursquare and Gowalla suggest they are both in an explosive mode, similar to the beginning of the Twitter bubble, with Foursquare in the lead:
- As of today, Foursquare has just over 1.9 Million users. Gowalla has around 340,000.
- At its current pace, Foursquare will surpass 2 Million users within a week.
- Foursquare is adding almost 10x as many new users per day as Gowalla and, despite a significantly larger base, has a daily percentage growth rate that is 75% higher than Gowalla’s.
- Currently, Foursquare has about 5.6 Million venues and Gowalla has 1.4 Million venues.
- 1 in 3 venues on Foursquare have been checked into only once or never. That number is 1 in 4 on Gowalla.
- The most popular venue name is “Home,” followed by national fast food chains like “McDonald’s” and “Burger King”
- On Foursquare, men outnumber women almost 2-to-1. Exact gender breakouts are not available for Gowalla, but the most popular first names suggest a similar distribution.
So understanding the exponential growth is one thing. It's quite another to have a strategy to capture that growth and transform it into some kind of business tool.
My experience with both GoWalla and Foursquare has been pretty similar. There are some differences in terminology and graphics...
These are applications that you use on your smartphone (I have an iPhone) where you check in at various places and collect points. They are both structured like a game. When you have visited a location more than anyone else in a 90 day period, you get the right to become the "Mayor" of that place. Sometimes that means you are eligible for a gift certificate or a free item. It's a nice perk for loyalty.
Personally, I find these applications to be marginally cute, and most of all a pain - because I have to remember to check in every place I go. I suppose you can get addicted to something like this - especially if you are a former coupon-aholic, and now you have to collect every point or discount.
What would spice up the experience is if more establishments offered some incentive for me to go there... Whatever the incentive is, the idea is to get me to go to your store versus the competition.
I do see that as being an effective use by businesses. The application is still a toddler and therefore there are many businesses who haven't caught on yet.
If you have a method to reach an audience, and the cost to engage is minimal, why wouldn't you try it out to see if it brings any incremental business?
Visiting the foursquare website is interesting to a user because it features specials and incentives from the local merchants.
The types of incentives you can offer include "Mayor Specials" awarded to the most loyal customer over the last 90 days, Check-in Specials awarded when a user checks in a certain number of times, Wildcard Specials and Frequency Specials. It's like a modern day frequent shopper program or coupon that you can access with your phone.
Facebook and Twitter are paying attention, and both have upgraded to incorporate geotargeted applications.
Here's just a sampling of some of the local specials on Foursquare:
- Carrabba's Italian Grill (Marlton, NJ)
- Mayor of Carrabba's enjoys a complimentary dessert with the purchase of an entrée. Grazie!
- Whole Foods Market Marlton (Marlton, NJ)
- Free Small Gelato/Sorbet (any flavor of your choice) for the Mayor!
- The Sports Authority (Washington Township, NJ)
- Get a $10 Cash Card towards today's purchase as a thank you for being our Mayor & Sports "Authority"! Exclusions Apply. Ask Store for Details. 1 per person. Issuance Code: 27427831
If you are a business considering using a location based application, my advise would be:
1. Sign up for the application and use it as a customer.
2. Learn the protocol of the application.
3. Connect with new people and make 'friends'
4. Register and launch your business.
5. Create an offer, and publicize it.
When you are ready to consider a social media marketing program, consult with WebMarCom for suggestions and recommendations for an Internet strategy that works for your company.