FourSquare 101 for Jamaican/Caribbean brands

Foursquare is like a loyalty rewards programme on the go, a fresh way for you to connect with your customers and keep them engaged with “specials “and yes a fresh way of getting free pr continuously for your brand but not in a pushy kinda way – and that’s from the perspective of a brand. “Specials,” which are discounts and prizes you can offer your loyal customers when they check in on foursquare at your venue.

For the user, Foursquare is a way of showing, sharing your lifestyle with friends, family, colleagues and quite a few strangers. It’s a way for you to also show your favourite brands some very public love and to get some rewards for being loyal and their very public advocates. And as the spiel from Foursquare goes, “We’re all about helping you find new ways to explore the city.”

How does it work?

You join using your email address and a password. And you can do this by going to foursquare.com or even more appropriately for Jamaica – on your phone as Foursquare has a free, downloadable application for your Blackberry, Iphone or Android Phone . On your phone, you can search for your favourite spots and see which of your friends or maybe strangers have been “checking in” ( which is simply clicking the Check In button) at this bar, this club or gym or restaurant. You can check in, add tips (which are like reviews and recommendations on what’s great, what’s new and what to try at this place), search and add friends.

Why this is killer? The multiplier effect of it all. Each time you check in ( and yes the Google Maps work for Jamaica) you can set it so your Facebook Friends, Twitter Followers know where you, what you’ve said, eaten, drank or experienced- instantly. So imagine that you made Mayor*(explained later) of your favourite bar, and the bar rewarded you with free drinks or free tapas and all of your Foursquare and Facebook friends and Twitter Followers saw that. You get my drift.

I joined just two weeks ago.

I personally just joined two weeks ago and I became Mayor of Susie’s Bakery and Cafe, my favourite cafe in Kingston. It has free wifi, consistently friendly service, delivered by an owner and a staff that makes a point to know what their regulars like to drink, eat and do.

So while exploring the ins and outs of Foursquare and earning my local badge, and eventually unseating the previous person to become Mayor of Susie’s, I realised the powerful ways this can be used in Jamaica and the Caribbean. That power can be summed up in this one sentence. It’s has a mobile app. If I get in to any more detail I’ll have to charge you consulting fees. LOL.

Jamaica on Foursquare

Already fans, not local businesses have placed their favourite restaurants, bars, hotels, hangout spots  on FourSquare and are rabid about becoming Mayor of their spots and this ,even without any brand rewards in place.People are just loving the idea of competing and unseating people for Mayorship of Places, for reaching various levels to unlock higher level of badges and points.So as is the case now in the United States where Foursquare was born, it’s the fans that’s been leading the charge and I do hope that Jamaican/Caribbean brands follow, connect and reward them. Currently there are over 60 Jamaican locations on FourSquare and it’s only just begun as only a handful are aware of this app and how it can benefit their brands.

Jamaicans Brands who’ve jumped in early

As I am writing this, the pretty popular Fiction Night Club, located in the Marketplace hub on Constant Spring road seems to have been the first Kingston brand to have claimed their venue and set up a reward for their loyal night clubbers They’s set things up that every new Mayor gets their first drink free.  On their Special Offers page  on Foursquare Fiction Lounge writes “Thank you for being our mayor, your First drink is on Fiction! (Make it a strong one!). Additionally, Jamaica Pegasus based in Kingston, Island Grill with over 15 locations islandwide and yes Susie’s Bakery and Coffee Bar (disclosure: is my client) and it’s after dark alter ego The Terrace at Susie’s are moving to launch special offers for their Foursquare based customers and to encourage new ones to try them.

How Jamaican/Caribbean Brands can leverage Foursquare for brand awareness and loyalty?

1. Listen In

Join Foursquare and see what people are doing, which locations are they “checking in”, which brands they are recommending and sharing and what your competitors are doing.

2. Claim your Venue

When you sign up, if you do not see your venue listed you can add it, edit it the location details and claim it in a simple 3 step process. Warning though, because we’re in Jamaica/TheCaribbean, one of the verification steps is for them to call the business number. That doesn’t work so be prepared to give a website url, email address or phone number to have you verified as the manager, owner or marketing agency of a location.

Then once that is done, you can begin to set up specials which we encourage you to promote on your other social touch points -email newsletter, Facebook group or fan page and Twitter following.  Brands have been known to loudly show that they are on Foursquare with signs at cash registers and sidewalk blackboards. So be creative.

3. Create Specials.

Check out Foursquare’s guide to creating Specials

* Mayor Specials: unlocked only by the Mayor of your venue. Who’s the Mayor? It’s your single most loyal customer! (the user who has checked in the most in the last 60 days)
(“Foursquare has deemed you the Mayor? Enjoy a free order of french fries!”)
* Check-in Specials: unlocked when a user checks in to your venue a certain number of times.
(“Foursquare says you’ve been here 10 times? That’s a free drink for you!”)
* Frequency-based Specials: are unlocked every X check-ins.
(“Foursquare users get 20% off any entree every 5th check-in!”)
* Wildcard Specials: always unlocked, but your staff has to verify some extra conditions before awarding the Special.
(“Show us your foursquare Swarm badge and get a free drink!”)
* And more to come!

How American brands have used and benefited from Foursquare?
Starbucks: Starbucks offered $1 off any size Frappuccino® for its mayors. Since running their Mayor Special on foursquare, Starbucks (already the most checked in retailer on the platform prior to running the Special) has seen a 50% increase in Check-Ins at its locations. Also, not only are our users excited about the competition the mayor deal creates but they’re also welcoming the opportunity to try new products!” – Foursquare