Top 5 Reasons Your Restaurant Needs FourSquare
Foursquare is a social networking game that allows users to “check-in” at their current GPS location. There are 2 ways to look at this:
- A silly geolocation game
- A POWERFUL marketing tool
You could be missing out on significant customer traffic by ignoring Foursquare. It is tremendously powerful. Getting customers into your restaurant is half the battle! Here are the top 5 reasons your restaurant needs FourSquare:
1. Friendly Competition is HEALTHY!
As humans, we naturally want to compete. It’s written into our psychological code, we cannot resist the temptation to win. Never underestimate the power of human competition.
Foursquare promotes this natural competition. Whoever checks into a place the most, becomes The Mayor of that place. A title, that’s it. What comes with this title? Bragging rights…which is the underlying principle behind friendly competition. Promote the power of competition and watch your doors swing wide open.
2. Do You Drive a Nice Car?
Remember that one guy in college? He was out every night, at every party, all the formals, and always looking for “face time.” That guy was party and perceived as highly sociable. He has tons of friends and knows the entire campus. He is popular.
As much as we hate to admit it, we long to be that guy. Even in grade school the kid with the newest pair of Air Jordan’s was cool. It follows us well into old age. Why do you want to drive a Mercedes Benz?
FourSquare creates competition for social status. The more you check into different restaurants and clubs, the higher your social status.
Now I understand you might be skeptical. Foursquare may not be the platform that gains 350 million users like Facebook. But a Geo-location game will be dominant in the future, and its users will be competing for social status.
3. To Start a Fire, You Need a Spark
Someone will eventually become Mayor of your restaurant. Why not promote it? Offer a free drink or food incentive to becoming Mayor. This encourages 2 things:
- Competition among customers to visit
- A small reward for a big payoff
Everyone loves free drinks…it’s a no-brainer. One free drinks leads to another, which leads to friends meeting up, which means more money in your pocket. Since most FourSquare users are also on Twitter, make sure to tweet about the offer. You need to set the spark, engage your community, and watch the fire grow as customers compete for free drinks.
Side Note: You can also run competitions like this inside your bar. The price of one free drink is small compared to everyone else who is buying.
4. What’s the Word on the Street?
It’s no secret, word of mouth (WOM) is jet fuel for your restaurant. The industry relies heavily on WOM. How do you think ultra successful restaurants survive? Simple: they are the talk of the town.
When FourSquare users check in, it updates all their Twitter followers. This creates an element of social proof, which is the main factor behind WOM. Humans generally trust each others opinions. By physically checking in, they are telling other people “Hey, I approve of this place, check it out!” Their followers may even ask about the experience. It becomes a rapid fire string of promotions, which can lead to the final goal: getting more customers in your restaurant.
5. Wanna Meet for a Drink?
Think about it, Foursquare tells friends where you are. This creates spontaneous meet ups. This is the reason Geo-location is so powerful for restaurants. Telling all your followers you’re at work is not the same as being at a bar.
Friends are much more likely to meet up at restaurants or bars. They are social places and great for gathering. Checking in on FourSquare is just like saying “Hey, come meet up!” That means more traffic for your restaurant, and more sales. Like I’ve said, getting people in the door is half the battle.
What do you guys think? Is FourSquare a powerful marketing tool or just a silly game? Do you think it is under rated? Over rated? Share your comments below!
Transparency: We are in no way affiliated with FourSquare, just so you know:)
Tags: FourSquare, geolocation, Restaurant Marketing, social media, technology