We talked about Foursquare a couple of months ago, and since then the app has been more and more popular! It’s a digital form of crowd sourcing, and the popularity of becoming “Mayor” of a place, shop, store, hotel, restaurant, or any other location is quickly becoming competitive.
What does this new app mean for hotels, and how can they use it as a marketing tool? Okay, so first it’s probably a little too soon to know exactly who your Foursquare users really are, although you already know that they are tech savvy, have a smart phone, and more than likely are avid Facebook and Twitter users.
Depending on the social media strategy of the hotel, Foursquare could be an excellent outreach tool, especially when it comes to offering Foursquare “specials.” For instance, some restaurants are offering free appetizers for those who “checkin” on a certain date and show their phone to the host. My friend Mark Johnson of HotelChatter posted an article about which hotels are using the app to promote deals and specials.
The immediacy of Foursquare is very attractive, as well as the potential of guests randomly running into someone they know. The deals are a good thing, too. Collecting badges and becoming mayor are a whole other story, though there are multiple marketing opportunities for hotels to capitalize on frequent and loyal Foursquare users.
By the way, from my 3750 approx Gmail contacts 15 are now using Foursquare - nearly twice as many from almost two months ago!!
Tags: digital crowd sourcing, facebook and hotels, foursquare and hospitality, hotel mayors foursquare, hotel pr, hotels and foursquare, social media PR