Feb 28
2011
Social Checkins & Why they Matter
Written by Angie Seaman | posted in Local Business Marketing | 0 Comments
At first, as a semi-old fart, looking at sites like Foursquare, Gowalla and the like made me react with questions like, “Why do I care if my cousin checked in at TGI Fridays? Do I want anyone to know that I’m the mayor of my local Starbucks?”
But, of course the marketer in me is stronger so I was intrigued. And as I started playing with it, I found it fun for reasons other than letting the world know that I’m at Target. Again.
When I’m out and about and thinking about what’s for lunch, my smartphone is my guide. I often will just turn on one of my checkin sites and search for a restaurant. Sometimes I see that someone I know has checked in there and left a positive note. It might get me to try a new place.
Or I’ll see a little discount for a place that’s nearby. That might get me to drop in just to feed the bargain hunter in me, and the part of me that feels a little secretly cool for finding this hidden treasure. My competitive drive kicks in when I see that I’m only 1 checkin away from becoming the mayor of my current location. If that location is McDonald’s, do I become Mayor McCheese?
On a site like Yelp, social checkins serve double duty. Not only do you see where your friends are eating and shopping, which builds some authority in your mind, they are also encouraged to post reviews there. And you have reviews of a lot of other users right there at your fingertips. It makes the decision of “where to go much easier”, and it makes it a lot more important to claim your listing there to be sure that they have the right info they need to find you.
Social checkins are fun, and there are good motivators to use them for most people who walk around with a smartphone. So this is another in the list of places that you want your customers to be able to easily find you. Make sure you’ve claimed control of your listings on these social checkin sites so that you can make them work for you.
Not sure how or don’t have time? Drop us a line and we can do the heavy lifting for you.
Angie Seaman
Founder of DuckiesMedia. Provider of local marketing and social media to businesses wanting to creating raving fans online and off. She has been an affiliate marketing professional, local retail manager, brand and product marketer. She likes rubber duckies. Follow her on Twitter @angies91