Social Media Marketing 101: How Businesses Benefit from Foursquare

It’s not uncommon for bars and restaurants to use the social media marketing tool Foursquare to offer perks to people who “check in” via the social media tool: 2-for-1 drink specials, attractive discounts or free dessert, for instance. Other types of businesses have struggled to find relevancy, however, but now Walgreens is showing local and national retailers how to capture the tech-savvy demographic.

Recently, Walgreens teamed up with Foursquare to roll out a mobile coupon program that lets consumers save money on products when they check-in to any location nationwide, making them the first retailer to offer point-of-sale scannable coupons through this popular tool.

About 15 million people use Foursquare. These are people who love to “check in” wherever they go, so making it worth their while with a reward encourages repeat visits. Some of the most popular check-in locations are 7-Eleven, Home Depot, Target, Bank of America and Old Navy.

Here’s how Walgreens’ program works: Customers who check-in through Foursquare on a smartphone instantly receive a scannable coupon on their phone that’s redeemable in the store – no texting, reply or other steps required. The first coupon offered was for 50% off AriZona Iced Tea.

Walgreens’ president of E-commerce, Sona Chawla, is a real Foursquare fan because of what this platform allows the company to do. “We’re using mobile technology and social media to better engage Walgreens customers, to give them convenient channels to interact with us and to deliver products, services and savings they truly value.”

Most any business can take advantage of Foursquare and in the process:

• Strengthen the connection with your customers
• Thank – and reward – them for their business
• Drive in-store traffic
• Build loyalty – if they keep coming back, they keep getting rewarded

Walgreens is showing other businesses how to generate goodwill with Foursquare, too. During flu season, the retailer donated a flu shot to someone in need for every check-in. This effort provided $6 million in flu shots to people who couldn’t afford one.

Most any type of business can benefit from a Foursquare reward program, because they all have one thing in common: consumers are looking for incentives, and offering them something of real value when they check in is a smart move.

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