Foursquare is a great platform for promotional contests. Thanks to its check-in capabilities, this social media site provides a forum for users to share their whereabouts. Foursquare pages allow businesses to share basic information about their organizations, as well as offer customers special discounts and coupons. Verified merchants have access to the merchant platform, where they can utilize the specials feature to reward both their new and their loyal customers. This offers the perfect recipe for a promotional contest that encourages customer interaction with businesses.

Top Customers

Promotional contests to reward top customers can be implemented through Foursquare. A grand prize can be given to the customer that visits the store the most during a certain period of time. Visits can be tracked through the number of times a customer checks-in at the merchant’s location. This encourages customers to check-in during every visit.

Loyal Customers

Merchants can also reward their loyal customers by offering discounts or savings after a certain number of visits or check-ins. According to Foursquare, this method of rewarding loyal customers is considered a “digital punch card”: If, for example, the target number of visits is five, customers would receive a coupon for a free item, gift card, or other discount savings upon their fifth check-in. This in turn drives future traffic to the business when the customer returns to redeem their coupons. If merchants want to drive customers into their store on a certain day or during a given time period, they can place restrictions on when the coupons can be redeemed. In addition, they can limit or control how much is given away by randomly selecting a certain number of winners from those who qualify. This ensures that promotional giveaways do not exceed cost expectations.

New Customers

Gaining new customers is important to any business. Since consumers have a tendency to try out new products and services when there is an incentive to do so, rewarding new customers with special deals for their first check-in can drive them to a business. Instant rewards that can be redeemed that day would be an ideal promotion for new customers.

Promotions for Events or Special Occasions

Foursquare specials can be used to attract customers to a business on a special day, such as an anniversary, by rewarding them for checking-in. As reported in a Foursquare case study, McDonald’s did a similar promotion where they gave away $5 and $10 dollar gift cards to 100 randomly selected customers who visited and checked into the restaurant on April 16th, the annual Foursquare day. McDonald’s reported that they received 33% more check-ins that day, as well as a subsequent 40% increase in check-ins the following week.

Foursquare is a proven, viable promotional tool for any business looking to increase traffic to its locations. It can help bring in new customers as well as encourage existing customers to return through its tracking and rewards capabilities. Foursquare creates additional marketing opportunities through the viral buzz its promotions often create. Join millions of other merchants and start promoting your business by creating, or claiming, your Foursquare business page today.

At Marden-Kane, we understand that it may be difficult to keep abreast of the latest developments in social media. We’re here to offer assistance and expertise. Call or visit us at www.mardenkane.com today to learn more about how we can design and implement a successful Foursquare-based promotion for your brand quickly and efficiently.