Advertising Local Specials on Foursquare

According to media reports the social networking site, Foursquare, has passed two million users. Many of these users are actively engaged with Foursquare by checking-in frequently as they travel around. Should your business try to capture their attention by advertising “local specials” on Foursquare? It all depends on the business.

If you are selling ice cream or smoothies on a hot day, Foursquare may deliver a very high ROI for an advertising campaign. On the other hand, if you are a doctor, an accountant, or any business that does not rely on impulse buying – Foursquare advertising is less likely to deliver great results.

The other way to utilize Foursquare advertising is to undercut a competitors price with a local special. Foursquare ads are viewed on mobile devices within your immediate local area (assuming Foursquare delivers the ads properly based on geo-targeting). Unlike some forms of CPM and CPC advertising that are hard to gauge results immediately, Foursquare advertising should deliver immediate data to evaluate. If a company runs a campaign on Foursquare and lowers a price for one of their goods or services via the Foursquare special, the company will know instantly if they have captured any additional local foot traffic. In some ways the abiulity to measure results is even better than companies that sell products online, because those metrics have to rely on cookies or user identication to be wholly accurate. 

What not to do with Foursquare advertising was demonstrated recently with Starbucks. The campaign that Starbucks ran rewarded the “mayors” of each of their stores, but did not provide an incentive to visit the store. Most people do not have the time or energy to try and win the war to be the mayor of the Starbucks they frequent. If anything, the Starbucks Foursquare special pestered loyal customers.

So the lesson is: Test Foursquare, track the results, see if it is a perfect fit for your business.

Local SEO for Small Business: The First Steps

Many small business owners are too busy to optimize their site for local website traffic. The bad news for these owners is that on-page local SEO optimization is very important and should not be ignored if you want to capture local search traffic. Hiring a local SEO consultant is advisable. On the other hand, the good news is that in one or two hours a site owner can include their site in six search-related directories that can help increase traffic and help network with potential customers. It is understandable if small business sites have not focused on local SEO as their business has grown, but now is the time for these sites to start their local SEO campaign. Start here:

 

1. Foursquare – A mobile-based social application. Check to see if your business is already in Foursquare and if not add it to their database to allow mobile searchers to more easily find your business. Offer promotions for check-ins and reviews.

2. Gowalla – A direct competitor of Foursquare, make sure to add your business to Gowalla and encourage user check-ins and reviews.

3. Google Places – Add your business to Google’s business directory and Google Maps if it is not already listed. Use appropriate keywords when describing your business and make sure that you target your geographic service area in your listing.

4. Yahoo Local – Sign up for either a basic or enhanced listing with the ability to edit your business profile and add photos and relevant information.

5. Microsoft – Add your business to the Bing search engine. Optimize your listing with keywords and photos. 

6. Yelp – User generated reviews and recommendation of local companies. Claim your business on Yelp and add promotions, photos, and keywords to your business listing.

 

The above steps are the easiest things you can do to start your local SEO campaign. As your web presence grows in your local market, integrating local SEO into your on-page elements, social networking, and content will be your next steps.