SocialNext

Foursquare Strikes Back: Using Irony

In my previous post I commented on how Starbucks' Foursquare marketing plan of giving discounts to Mayors of their stores was flawed because employees often check in on Foursquare more than customers. Thus it is much more difficult for customers to actually win the discounts. 

Then this morning I checked in to my nearby Starbucks...and became the Mayor...and got the discount.

Well played Foursquare. Well played.

Gowalla Exploits Foursquare’s Mayor Weakness

Underdog location-based social network Gowalla has launched a new marketing promotion that has a great chance of gaining traction over rival Foursquare.

Companies can partner with Gowalla to reward check-ins randomly with chances to win a prize or, even if you didn’t win, a discount coupon. This is different from Foursquare’s marketing programs with companies like Starbucks of rewarding users who are “Mayors” (people who check-in to a location the most).

Here’s an example of Gowalla’s program with Eye-Fi via TechCrunch:

…when a person checks in through Gowalla at any U.S.-based Best Buy or Apple Store, they’ll automatically have a chance to win a free 4 GB Eye-Fi card. A message will pop up on their screen about the card post check-in. And a simple click on the “Did I win?” button below that message will reveal if you’re a winner of the $75 card the spot. There will be 500 winners for this particular promotion.

But even if you don’t win, the check-in grants you access to a coupon code for one year’s worth of free hotspot access if you do choose to purchase an Eye-Fi card. 

The weaknesses of Foursquare’s “Mayor” discounts are two-fold: 

1. Employees are often the Mayors of their stores: How can you offer a discount to the Mayor of your store if the Mayor isn’t even a customer? If customers feel like they can’t actually achieve the discount what’s the point? That’s why any company that works with Foursquare has to have an Employee Foursquare Policy that discourages employees from checking in.

2. As a user if I know I’ll never be the Mayor I sometimes don’t bother to check-in: Let’s say Best Buy has a deal with Foursquare to reward Mayors with discounts. If I don’t go to Best Buy often I know I’ll never be the Mayor so I probably won’t check-in on Foursquare. However, if the reward is a random check-in on Gowalla I will definitely do so. This increases my chance of winning something and will also get users in the habit of using Gowalla more.

Props to Team Gowalla. If they can get more companies to sign on to this type of program it could be a windfall of positive press and increased adoption by users.

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Foursquare, Ashton Kutcher and Me

When I was at the Foursquare party at SXSW I noticed my picture being taken while I was fussing with my phone. (Ironically checking in on Foursquare on my then-cracked screen Blackberry.) 

I introduced myself to the photographer to discover it was Dan Costa, editor of PC Magazine. Very nice guy. Well, I never saw the result (at left) until I found it by accident on the Starbucks Gossip Blog. 

Now is this picture of me as cool as the picture of the elusive Ashton Kutcher from the same party? I'll let you decide. 

Great Example to Promote Your Business on Foursquare

I love this! Here's a restaurant, The Kona Grill, using coasters to urge people to check in on Foursquare! It's a great way to market to customers in an unobtrusive way.

It seems to be working too. All the Kona Grill's locations nationwide have tons of check ins and Mayors as well!