Facebook as the worldwide phenomenon and the major marketing platform for companies worldwide

78 percent of small business owners said they plan to spend more of their marketing budget on social media this year than they did in 2010. Facebook is overwhelmingly the entrepreneur’s favorite tool, with 68 percent indicating that it is the social media tool they use most for business.

We reccomend three main marketing strategies to grow your business on Facebook:

1. Facebook Fan Pages

More and more people are spending their hours on Facebook, so if you have a business and don’t have a Facebook fan page yet, you are missing out on the free advertising opportunity Facebook has to offer.

The reasons behind the requirement of a Facebook fan page to promote your services and products can be stated as:

  • The Facebook fan page helps you in obtaining unlimited number of supporters or fans. You do not have to accept them and your personal profile is not visible to them.
  • It can be easily availed by people who 'like' it and they will be automatically informed of your page's any new update. Thereby, it allows people to actively get involved in your conversations
  • A Facebook fanpage is capable of exposing your business to many people. A fan can share a link or video from your fan page and share it with his or her friends. This will lead to your own fan base's growth as curious people are likely to view all of your information and start conversations with you.
  • Since the fanpages are public and act as a website, it can be indexed by the search engines, thereby enabling you to acquire new customers
  • Unlike Facebook profile pages, fan pages are highly customizable. With applications, custom welcome pages, integrated 3rd-party applications like MailChimp or Constant Contact can be created by you. The fan pages can be utilized as a second website by expressing the differences and benefits of your services and products.

Here are the examples of fanpage designsfor restaurants. If you have a fanpage you should make the custom design for it. According to statistics, a fanpage with custom welcome tab is 3 times more likely to convert visitors to fans than just sending them to the wall. 

http://www.facebook.com/Chilis

http://www.facebook.com/applebees

http://www.facebook.com/panerabread

http://www.facebook.com/OliveGarden

http://www.facebook.com/thecheesecakefactory

2. Facebook Places

Facebook Places is essentially free word-of-mouth advertising for your business. When customers check in, they’ll automatically be telling their Facebook friends about it. If you run a small business with a street entrance, there’s a good chance that it’s already a part of Facebook Places — with or without your input.

Once you have claimed your Facebook place you should go to that place and you will see a button that asks you if you want to create a deal. Clicking on that will bring you on to the image below which gives you a selection of deals that you can offer your customers. As you can see the deals are fairly self explanatory and you can tailor a deal based on what you can offer to incentivize your customers with.

Once you’ve added your deal you’ll be able to define it a little further (first 20 people to check in get the deal, 20% off, check in 10 times to get a free coffee etc etc). You can set a time limit on deals and all deals need to be approved by Facebook which can take up to 48 hours. In just a few simple steps though you have created your very first Facebook deal and can now sit back and wait for customers to find you while they are out and about using Facebook.

How Do Customers Find And Claim Deals?

In an ideal world I walk in to a shopping center or shopping street and find all the deals that are in my area by opening “nearby places”. Deals are marked with a little yellow tag and you can flick through them. In countries where this is already well established like UK and USA there are more and more deals every day.

The Benefit Of Deals

It’s pretty obvious that you would want people to find your deals because not only would it bring more people physically in to your premises but it also pushes that information back to the users Facebook profile alerting their friends. If you are smart about it you can get groups of people checking in to your

premises (bars, nightclubs and restaurants take note) or even use deals as a cheap loyalty card solution. The future of deals is going to evolve even further as group buying comes to Facebook in a couple of weeks and it’s well known within the industry that hyper local advertising like this is the future. You have a chance without Facebook deals to dip your toe in the water and give this a shot for free so please please start offering some deals!


Twitter

Twitter is a core piece of any social media marketing strategy. It makes sense for online markets to use Twitter for a variety of reasons, but why should a local small business, a shop or restaurant for example, use Twitter?

Twitter is a very strong platform for location based marketing. Foursquare or Gowalla would be considered "primary" location based marketing platforms, while Twitter is more of a secondary location based marketing program. However, Twitter can be a vital tool and take your LBM campaign to the next level.

Twitter builds on the idea of "permission marketing." Twitter can be used to create a follower list of customers who are passionate about your brand and your business. This Twitter follower list can be used as a "permission asset" of customers who want to see what specials and deals you are offering. Once you build up a significant twitter following (that is a whole different article!) you can market to those customers using Twitter.

What can you do with Twitter to juice up your LBM campaign and make some sales? Here are a few suggestions to consider for building your Twitter base and using that to leverage your LBM campaign.

  • Tweet about one-time specials and deals available through other location based platforms - send out a tweet to your followers and let them know to come check-in and unlock your special.
  • Use Twitter to get new followers onto your LBM platform - get followers to sign up for Foursquare or Gowalla and come in to your store for specials, discounts and deals, once they are on the platform - you can offer them more specials in the future.
  • Offer check-in specials exclusively for your Twitter followers - this is a great way to reward your twitter followers and encourage more of your customers to join twitter - this creates a virtuous cycle where you get more followers on both twitter and your location based service of choice.
  • Give your customers a small bonus for becoming a follower on Twitter - 10% off or a free beer will do - something simple but meaningful- this creates a win-win situation for both you and your customer because you are both providing each other with something of value.
  • Advertise in your store - let customers know if they follow you on twitter they can get access to free deals and specials that you will only post on Twitter - this creates a great incentive to get your customers on the platform, once you start offering them specials and deals then you can drive concrete and measureable foot traffic into your venue using location based services like Foursquare.

How to Search for Local People

Most Twitter users occasionally tweet about the things around them. This means that you can find local people by searching tweets for things in or near your business location.

For example, you can search for:

  • City name
  • Neighborhood or community name
  • Local landmarks
  • Local businesses
  • Event venues, museums and public locations
  • Local fairs, parades and community events
  • Hashtag identifiers for a local community or event

When you search for your city name on Twitter, you have to look for all of the possible ways people may type it. Experiment with the options to figure out which ones give you the best search results. You can also use Twitter’s search operators to string together multiple options in one search or exclude items from your results.

twitter help center

From this list you can fine-tune your search query.

Find Local People Using Tweets Near You

Twitter lets you search through current tweets to find the name of your city, a neighborhood name, a local landmark or a business. You can narrow the results to only the tweets posted near your location.

Search Twitter for your city name.

Use the Twitter search box to find tweets about your location. Twitter shows the most recent tweets that match your search on the Tweets tab.

twitter search city tempe tweets redacted

The Tweets tab shows current tweets that contain the city name "Tempe, AZ."

View the tweets posted near you.

Click the Tweets Near You tab. Twitter shows a list of the most recent tweets that match your search posted by people near your current location.

twitter search city

Click the Tweets Near You tab to find tweets in your results posted by people near your location.

Review the list of tweets and follow local people.

Read the tweets in your search results. When you find a tweet from someone who might be in your target location, click the account name. Twitter shows you a brief account profile in the flyout in the right pane. In the flyout, click Follow to add this person to your Twitter community.

twin palms hotel flyout

The flyout shows a brief Twitter profile with the Follow button.

Find Local People With Your City Name in Their Profile

Twitter allows you to search through profiles to find people who list your city name. Unfortunately, Twitter only shows a few people, not everyone who lists your city in their profile.

Search Twitter for your city name.

Search for your city name (and its variations) in the Twitter search box. Twitter shows the most recent tweets that match your search on the Tweets tab.

Search for your city name in profiles.

Click the People tab. Twitter shows a list of people whose profile location contains your city name.

twitter search

Click the People tab to find people who list your city name in their profile.

Review the list and add local people.

Review the people in your search results. Click the account name to display a brief Twitter profile in the flyout. Click Follow to add a person to your Twitter community.

Find Local People With Twitter Advanced Search

Twitter’s advanced search page allows you to add geography to your search. For example, you can search through the most recent tweets posted within 1 or 5 miles of a city by name or zip code. The search results are current tweets, so every time you do this search, you get different results.

Display the Twitter advanced search page.

Set your geography range.

In the Places box, identify your city by name or zip code, and select your range using the drop-down options.

twitter search advanced

Twitter lets you search for all tweets near your city by name or zip code.

Review the list of tweets and follow local people.

Read the tweets in your search results. When you find a tweet from someone you want to follow, hover your mouse over the account name. Twitter shows a brief account profile in a hovercard.

twitter search advanced

You can follow a Twitter user from the hovercard or expand it to see more profile information.

Click More to see the expanded hovercard with more profile details. Click Follow to add this person to your Twitter community.

twitter search advanced

You can follow a local Twitter user from the hovercard.


Foursquare

This location-based service offered more options for specials — and made it quicker and easier to set them up. To date, more than 250,000 small and large businesses have signed up on Foursquare’s free platform for businesses; many of these have offered specials.

The beauty of a Foursquare special — aside from rewarding your customers and getting them back in the door — is that when users often check out the “Specials Nearby” menu when they first open the app. If they’re within a few blocks of your store and you have a special, you’ll show up in that menu. It’s an excellent, free way to gain exposure, and the platform is flexible and intuitive. There are now seven types of specials available on Foursquare; below you’ll find an explanation of each special, along with some tips to help you get started.

1. Create a Special


Once you’ve claimed your venue on Foursquare, go to Foursquare.com

  • Click on “Manager Tools”
  • Click on “Campaigns”
  • Click on “Start a Campaign”
  • Click on “Add a Special”

The new specials are broken up into two types — five that reward new customers, and two that incentivize existing customers to return.

Swarm Special


You can specify the number of people who need to be checked in to unlock something. For example, an ice cream store can give away a free scoop of ice cream when 10 people are checked in at once. You can set a limit for how frequently this special can be unlocked so that you don’t give away too much product.


Friends Special


A reward for when friends check in together. You can specify how many friends need to be checked in and what they receive for being checked in.


Flash Special


You can set a special so that the first X people who come at X time get a reward. It’s great way to incentivize customers to stop by during your slow hours.


Newbie Special


People who check in to your business for the first time can be awarded a Newbie Special — maybe 10% off or a free side dish, if you own a restaurant. Offering a reward for a user’s first checkin — even if it’s a small one — is a great way to start a relationship with a new customer.


Check-In Special


The Check-In Special offers a reward for every single checkin. Restaurants can offer a free soda or a discount, while retailers might offer $1 off a purchase.


Loyalty Special


The Loyalty Special is an offering for every third, fifth, seventh checkin — you determine the interval — to incentivize customers to return regularly and cash in on their special.


Mayor Special


The mayor is the person who has checked into a venue more than anyone else. In theory, he is your best and most loyal customer. As such, he deserves a prize, whether it’s a discount, a free t-shirt or a meal on the house. Mayors tend to be proud and protective of their mayorship, and you might even see some turf wars when the mayorship changes hands. You can offer something whenever a new mayor earns the crown, or you can offer a daily reward for the mayor.

Now that you’ve seen the offerings, click the special you’d like to do and determine the stipulations that will require people to unlock the special. Then click “Next Step.”


2. Write Your Special


Now you can write the text of the offer. In the “Offer Description” field, you have 200 characters to outline your special. It will populate in real time on the iPhone to the right so you can see what it will look like on someone’s smartphone. Keep it short and simple.

After you enter the text, click “Next Step.” In the field labeled “Fine Print,” type any restrictions or disclaimers for the special. If you want to target your slow times, you can say that the special can be redeemed only from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. or on Monday and Tuesday. Be specific.

Click “Create Special.”


3. Determine the Venues for the Special


Select the venue where you’d like to have this special run. You can have different specials running at different locations, and you can group your locations. If you have three stores in New York and two in Boston, you can create a “group” of New York venues and a group for Boston, and then each group can have its own specials. Or, each location can offer something different — Foursquare gives you total control. Also note that you can have multiple specials running simultaneously. If it’s a limited-time offer, remember to put an end date for the campaign. Once you click “Start Campaign,” the special is live. (However, it will not show up in the “Specials Nearby” menu until someone on the Foursquare team verifies that the special is legitimate and abide by the terms of service. This usually happens within 24 hours.)


4. Educate the Staff


Once you create your special, Foursquare provides links for a flyer that you can download to explain to your employees how Foursquare and specials work.

HOW TO: Start Marketing on Foursquare


Claim Your Venue


To claim your venue, search for it on Foursquare.com. It’s likely that someone has already created your venue to check into it, and you can claim it by proving that you own it. If you can’t find it or you are opening a new venue, click “Add a new venue to Foursquare,” which is at the bottom of the page. Fill out the information in the wizard. Once all the information is plugged in, your venue page will come up. Click “Claim here” on the venue page.

Foursquare will ask you a few questions about the business (i.e. “Is this a chain?”) and whether you are authorized to claim the venue. Then it will ask how you’d like to verify your ownership — either by phone or by mail. If you verify by phone, Foursquare will call you and provide a 4-digit PIN that you can enter on the site. If you opt to verify by mail, the PIN will be sent via postcard. Once you’re verified, you will also receive a Foursquare window cling so customers know you are a Foursquare-friendly establishment. (Fear not, efficiency lovers: If you have numerous locations, you can verify in bulk.)


Adding Specials


Once you’re verified as the owner of a location, you can use Foursquare’s Merchant Platform to create specials to reward your customers. The method for creating specials is pretty self-explanatory, and the wizard walks you through each step as you create your special. You can have two specials running simultaneously at a given location. Foursquare 3.0 introduced a new group of specials:

  • Swarm Special. A special is unlocked when a certain number of people are checked in. For example, an ice cream store can give away a free scoop of ice cream when 10 people are checked in at once. You can set a limit for how frequently this special can be unlocked so that you don’t give away too much product.
  • Friends Special. A reward for when friends check in together. You can specify how many friends need to be checked in and what they receive for being checked in.
  • Flash Special. A special for the first X people who come at X time. It’s great way to incentivize customers to stop by during your slow hours.
  • Newbie Special. A reward for people who check in to your business for the first time. Offering a reward for a user’s first checkin — even if it’s a small one, like 10% off or a free side dish — is a great way to start a relationship with a new customer.
  • Check-In Special. A reward for every single checkin. Restaurants can offer a free soda or a discount, while retailers might offer a few dollars off a purchase.
  • Loyalty Special. A reward for a user’s third, fifth, seventh checkin — you determine the interval — to incentivize customers to return a few times to cash in on their special. Loyalty specials can be recurring (“every three checkins”) or not (“on your third checkin”).
  • Mayor Special. The mayor is the person who has checked into a venue more than anyone else. In theory, he is your best and most loyal customer. As such, he deserves a prize, whether it’s a discount, a free t-shirt, a beer or a meal on the house. Mayors tend to be proud and protective of their mayorship, and you might even see some turf wars when the mayorship changes hands. You can offer something whenever a new mayor earns the crown, or you can offer a daily reward for the mayor.

Now that you’ve seen the offerings, click the special you’d like to do and fill in the requirements for unlocking the special. Once you finish entering the stipulations and select what venues will feature the special, it will be live (though it won’t show in the “Nearby Specials” filter until a human verifies that the special is legitimate). There are two one-sheets you can print off to explain Foursquare — one for employees, so they know how to recognize a special, and one for customers, so they know how to get in on the Foursquare action.


Dashboard Analytics


Once you’ve claimed a venue, you can access a dashboard of analytics that show how many checkins you’re getting each day, the time of each checkin, as well as a breakdown of the genders and ages of your Foursquare customers. Plus, there are two lists: one of your top visitors in the past 60 days (your most loyal customers), and one of your most recent customers, along with their Twitter handles (so long as they provided that info when they logged into Foursquare). In my experience, only about 25% of people push their Foursquare checkins to Facebook and Twitter, so having access to the Twitter handles of loyal and new customers provides businesses with an opportunity to reach out, follow up and see how a customer’s experience was. That personal touch is likely to bring customers back, and it may also turn that person into an evangelist for your business.

Also, remember that Foursquare is flexible, and you can make changes in real-time. You can run two specials simultaneously at each venue, so experiment and figure out what works for you and your business. With the right campaign, you could actually be saving money — Friedman says several business have stopped advertising altogether, since Foursquare allows them to reach customers for free.


Brand Pages


But not every business has a brick-and-mortar location — look at MTV and Zagat, for example. If your company is a brand without a physical presence — a magazine, a TV channel, a university of a consumer packaged good — you can use Foursquare Pages and Partner Badges to reach consumers.

Foursquare Pages are “a place for brands to have a program and have a cool way to interact with consumers,” Friedman says. The Foursquare website outlines a step-by-step process for setting up a Foursquare Page, which must be done manually (in the future, businesses will be able to create their own brand Pages). Business owners must submit a form; the Foursquare team will reply in about two weeks.

Your Page is highly customizable, and you can have a custom banner to incorporate your logo. The grey box on the right can be populated with information about your brand, along with links back to your own site or to social media sites. And of course there are tips you can leave for your followers so that when they check in to certain places, your tip pops up. The History Channel leaves factoids all over the country at places like New York’s Highline and London’s Tower Bridge, which provide context as you traverse the city. Likewise, Zagat leaves restaurant tips for dishes and cocktails.

Tips can be timeless, or they can be geared to promote an event. For example, The New York Times left tips all over Vancouver for the 2010 Olympics. Tips can be saved to a user’s to-do list, too. The Foursquare site points out tips for crafting good tips:

  • Tips can direct people to a certain place or instruct users to try a certain item. The point of Foursquare is to enhance someone’s experience in a location — if you have some insights, share them.
  • Don’t leave a tip that is obvious — try to share insider information, a secret menu item or a fun tidbit

Brand Badges


Once a brand has a Page, it can also offer badges for Foursquare users. Of course, Foursquare has its own badges that users love unlocking, including:

  • Crunked. Four stops in one night.
  • Photogenic. Checking in to three places with a photo booth.
  • Swarm. Checking in to a place with 50 other people.

But the brand badges are more self-promotional, and they’re unlocked for checking in to places and doing fun things that are relevant to your brand. (Foursquare doesn’t disclose individual badge prices, which can vary, but “$25,000 a month with a multi-month commitment” is typical.) Users must “follow” a brand on Foursquare to unlock badges, some of which include:

  • MOMA — Art Addict. Three checkins at MOMA or PS1 in one month.
  • The Wall Street Journal — WSJ Lunch Box. Two checkins during lunch at a restaurant that’s been reviewed in WSJ’s “Lunch Box” column.
  • Gogo Inflight — Mile High. One checkin while in flight.

New York Magazine recently did a Foursquare integration with its “Where to Eat 2011″ feature. Below each highlighted restaurant, users could add a restaurant tip to their to-do lists. Checking in to 5 of the restaurants in the list earns a user the Where to Eat 2011 badge, which could also unlock discounts and prizes at these restaurants.


Gowalla


Gowalla is a location-based service that helps people keep up with their friends, share their favorite places, and discover the world around them. Users can connect with friends on their iPhone, Android, Blackberry or Palm smartphones—as well as on the web.


7 Ways To Engage With Gowalla Users


Gowalla offers brands seven main ways to connect with its users. As a result, the platform is quite inclusive of just about any type of brand, big or small.

1. Passports

Every move the company makes ties back to the idea of “What if you could use your mobile phone as a passport?”

Just as Gowalla users create “Passports” to document their adventures, brands too can join in on the fun, checking in to venues related to their brand. Red Bull, for example, maintains a Passport and “checks into places and events where people should be drinking Red Bull"

To get started with a Passport, businesses should create an account on Gowalla (as a regular user). If the brand would like to be identified with the “follow” model — instead of with the “friendship” model that users use — then Gowalla’s business development team can help switch the account over. Read the “Speaking With Humans” section below for details on contacting Gowalla’s team.

2. Custom Stamps

When users check in to “Spots” on Gowalla, they receive “Stamps,” which act as virtual bling for their passports.

Gowalla enables businesses with physical locations to customize the Stamps that users receive when checking in to their venues. Prices and commissioning time vary, but the team usually releases 100 Stamps at a time, roughly once per month. The most recent batch of custom Stamps were commissioned for $150 each.

These Stamps are a great way for Spot owners to have their brand seen and discovered within Gowalla. “The more the experience looks and feels like the place where people are, the better [the] experience they can share with their networks.”

For more details on commissioning custom Stamps, visit gowalla.com/stamps.

3. Pins for Trips

Users and brands are able to create “Trips.”  Creating a Trip is much like creating a mix tape — just as one would choose thematic songs for a mix tape, a Gowalla user curates similar or related Spots to create a Trip.

When Disney partnered with Gowalla, for example, it created a number of Trips across its parks. When users complete specific Trips, such as the Thrill Seekers Unite Trip, which entails checking in at all of the biggest thrills at Disneyland, they earn Pins.

Small businesses looking to create Trips can do so without investing in custom Pins. Gowalla offers 16 preset Pins for users and brands. If a business is looking to go beyond the basic offerings, custom programs can be discussed with Gowalla’s business development team.

4. Pins for Challenges

Gowalla users can also earn Pins for completing “Challenges.” A Challenge is complete once a user demonstrates a certain type of behavior, such as checking in to 10 pubs to earn the “Pub Crawl” Pin.

Disney also offers a number of Challenges, including the Disneyland MountaineerChallenge, which entails checking in at all of Disneyland’s mountain-themed attractions, such as Space Mountain and Big Thunder Mountain Railroad.

5. Virtual Items

Each Gowalla user has a “pack,” in which virtual items can be stored as they are found.

Another way for brands to engage with users is to offer virtual items. This option is particularly useful for brands that do not have physical locations but that would love to get involved with the Gowalla community.

Tazo Tea, in partnership with Whole Foods, created three virtual tea items that users could collect by checking in to Whole Foods. While attributable sales couldn’t be tracked, Tazo Tea hoped that users would be compelled to buy more Tazo Tea once they unlocked the virtual items in Whole Foods, where the teas are distributed (among other retailers). While sales were difficult to track, the increase in awareness for Whole Foods was significant — checkins at Whole Foods amounted to greater than a 100% increase over the monthly average, stating that these types of programs help build stronger business-to-business relationships.

6. Highlights

“A ‘Highlight’ is a subjective way to share information about places that are important to you, without requiring you to check in.

CNN’s iReport was the first case study of branded Highlights on Gowalla. iReport aims to enable Gowalla users to report breaking news as it’s happening. All Highlights submitted to iReport on Gowalla go directly to the iReport desk — if a user’s Highlight is published, he or she receives the iReport Pin.

7. Claiming a Spot

Businesses with physical locations have the ability to claim their Spots on Gowalla. Claiming a Spot enables business owners to share more information about the location, create a checkin message or special offer and monitor checkin activity.

Each time a person checks in to a Spot, he is essentially adding his personal endorsement to his entire network. “The more that Spot owners do to incentivize endorsements and to create an experience at their Spot, the more likely people will be to check in and share those experiences with their friends.”


Speaking With Humans


Gowalla’s business page is a great resource for brands seeking an introduction to getting started on the platform. But if that isn’t enough, the business development team is all ears.

“Emailing business@gowalla.com is the best way to let the business development team know that you are interested in speaking about a campaign.

In order for Gowalla’s team to understand a brand’s needs and respond quickly. Here’s a quick checklist of the details that help Gowalla’s team best understand a brand’s objectives and needs:

  • What experience the brand is hoping to create with a Gowalla campaign
  • Which places will these experiences occur in
  • What the time frame of the campaign is
  • The brand’s budget for the campaign
  • The goals of the campaign

SCVNGR


SCVNGR is part game, part game platform. Playing SCVNGR is all about going places, doing challenges and earning points. Players discover cool new places, find fun new things to do, share their activity with friends and can even earn virtual (and sometimes real-world) rewards! Individuals and institutions can build on SCVNGR by adding custom challenges at their favorite places.

More than 1,000 enterprises have launched challenges and rewards on SCVNGR. Consumers complete challenges to earn rewards. 

Because SCVNGR has a partnership with Google, it has more than 320 million places in its database. Thus, SCVNGR has the ability to launch challenges with badges and have leaderboards all over the world.

Since launch, SCVNGR has accrued 1.6 million users. Most users are 13 to 38 years old, but there is a roughly equal breakdown of male and female, so there’s a broad range of customers to target. SCVNGR has been implemented successfully in a variety of businesses. For example:

  • Buffalo Wild Wings hosted what Mahl deems “by far the most successful” SCVNGR campaign during March Madness.
  • Neiman Marcus encourages customers to be fashion leaders and snap photos of their favorite trends. For instance, the “trendsetter” challenges asks users to snap a pic of their favorite accessory for a little black dress. The campaign is live at 42 locations, and sharing to Twitter enters users into a contest for a $2,550 shopping spree.
  • GameStop launched a challenge leading up to the release for Call of Duty: Black Ops.

Now that we’ve covered the basics, here’s how you can launch a SCVNGR campaign for your own brand.


Make Your Own Campaign


SCVNGR is all about interaction, so as a business owner, you have the ability to “create an engagement story.” Mahl emphasizes that the challenges are entirely scriptable and customizable. Such creative license allows a business to get exactly what they want out of the platform. As such, launching a SCVNGR campaign is both “brand safe” and scalable. The nice thing about SCVNGR is that you can have “cross-place play,” so users can visit a business with multiple locations and the points accumulate from each venue (this is an optionFoursquare doesn’t currently offer).

Register for the site, and select “I am primarily a builder.” A temporary password will be emailed to you, and you’ll see a welcome screen on the site. Choose “Click here to begin.” You’ll now arrive at the builder — you can opt to set up your SCVNGR independently, or you can work with the SCVNGR team to get started.


Challenges


Now you’re ready to create challenges, which are what Mahl calls a “multidimensional interaction” and an invitation to play for rewards. Click “Create Challenge,” choose a location, give the challenge a name and assign it a point value (2 to 5 points). Then you can write the text of the challenges and assign it a challenge type: Specific Text Response, Open Response, Photo Challenge or QR Code. You can also upload an image, audio or video file that the user will experience on the challenge prompt (I uploaded a picture of the logo I’m referring to so the user knows what to look for). Then, you can create a “Done Message” — a type of congratulations for when the user completes the challenge. Once you’re done, click “Save & Continue.”

When you’re coming up with challenges, Mahl has a mantra to keep in mind. “If it’s cool, people with do it — that’s the nature of game dynamics,” he says. SCVNGR provides some best practices for writing challenges that fit with a brand’s style. Here are some more general tips from Mahl, too:

  •  
    • Keep it short. Don’t create a challenge that takes ten minutes to do.
    • Let them explore. Try to create a new experience for the user by encouraging them to discover something new about a brand or business.
    • Let them express themselves. For open-ended questions, let the users ruminate and ideate — they love to give brands a piece of their minds.
    • Time is of the essence. Create content that is timely — you can always modify and update challenges to keep things fresh and relevant.

Note that users can create their own challenges, too, but only after they’ve completed a number of challenges and proven themselves to be a sort of “power user.” This creates a whole new level of brand engagement, says Mahl, and transforms the users from players into “authors.” SCVNGR staff combs through the user-generated challenges and curates them to weed out any inappropriate ones.


Rewards


Now that you know how to create challenges — and you can write up to five custom ones — you can outline some rewards. The rewards are items and perks that can be redeemed with the points earned from challenges, so you want to incentivize people to play with excellent rewards. Click “Create Reward.” Again, enter a place, a title and a reward description. Assign a point value to the reward, and you can set a limit for how many times the reward can be earned. You can also set an expiration date if the reward is seasonal.

Keep in mind that a reward can be digital or physical. Mahl says you could offer a sneak preview for a movie or even the ability to enter into a random selection for a big grand prize. During Coca-Cola’s SCVNGR campaign, the brand offered a free bottle opener and an AmEx gift card for $9, so the user could get free soda for himself and a few friends.


Treks


The last item is a trek — essentially, a walking tour of an area. Select an “anchor point,” which is the starting point and home base for the trek. The way the trek works is that each time someone checks in to a location, they’re directed to the next one, so it’s a bit of a scavenger hunt (hence the app’s namesake). Under “Some Details,” you can add a custom map image, choose whether this will be a competitive trek or not — is it a race or a leisurely tour? — and whether the trek should have a linear route or a “SmartRoute,” which issues the next destination based on distance and crowding. Once you fill this out, click “Save & Continue.”

With that, you’re all set — your challenges, rewards and treks are live. Mahl suggests having a training week when your staff can play around with the platform and get used to it so they can answer any questions a user might have. Once the campaign is underway, you can check on the progress and download a .csv report of user activity.

Google Places


Millions of people search Google Maps every day. A free listing on Google Maps makes it easy for them to find you.

Use Google Places to create your free listing.When potential customers search Maps for local information, they'll find your business: your address, hours of operation, even photos of your storefront or products.It's easy, free, and you don't need a website of your own.

If your local business doesn’t have a Places page or if it isn’t properly optimized, you could be missing out on well qualified traffic and leads. Here’s our quick and easy plan for achieving Google Places optimization Zen. 
google places optimization

1 - Claim or Create a Google Places Page

Chances are that your business already has a Places page, even if you never set one up. Start by doing a simple search for your brand name to see if one already exists. If you see a listing for your business, click to the place page and look for the “business owner?” link, then follow the instructions to claim it. If you find that you don't have a places page, start a new one at google.com/places
google places rankings

2 - Verify Your Google Places Page

Once you have claimed or created a Places page, the next vital step is to verify it. Until you verify your listing, it won’t be considered “trusted” because the search engines don’t know that you are actually the business owner. As a result, it may not appear in the search results, or how often it appears may be limited.

The verification process is easy, but it takes time. Follow the instructions when setting up your Places page or by clicking the verify link when you are logged in to your places account. You might be given the option to get a phone call, but will likely have to wait for a postcard in the mail (which takes 2-3 weeks.) 
 

3 - Optimize Your Places Page

When you finally have your Places page verified, there are a few things you can do to optimize your page and make it easier for potential customers to find you.

  • google places keywordsOptimize your business’s title – Your title in Google Places should be your business name, and possibly include some reference of your location. For instance, if you own a franchised business, including a location keyword is important to distinguish yourself against other area franchisees. Use HubSpot’s Keyword Grader or the AdWords keyword tool to better understand how users are searching for businesses like yours using city and state names.
  • Include keywords in your Places page description – Write a brief and concise description of your business, and be sure to include a keyword or two from the last step (don't go overboard adding keywords, though.)
  • Choose a few appropriate categories – Choosing the right categories is important, and you can include up to five – but only include categories that are actually relevant to your business.
  • Make your Places page as complete as possible – It’s generally thought that more complete Places pages have an edge over less complete pages in the eyes of the search engines. Photos, videos, links to your social media profiles, hours and additional information can help to make your Places page more engaging and appealing to users, too. HubSpot’s Google Places page is a great example.

4 – Google Places Rankings – Citations, Not Just Links

Links to your website have an impact on Google Places, but many believe that reviews and simple mentions of your business across the web are of equal or greater importance. Search engines likely use mentions as a means to measure the “buzz” around local businesses (which don’t always have websites, and as a result, can be harder to judge the popularity of.) You can look for opportunities to build up citations on -

  • Directories – Claim or create your listing in each of the major directories, and make sure that your information is consistent across all of your listings (here is a good list of places to start.)
  • Review sites – Reviews give search engines a signal that your business is a real place that is known and liked (or disliked) by real people. Encourage your customers to leave truthful reviews of your business, and claim your listing on the major review sites to make sure that your listing information is complete and consistent.
  • Local Resources & Events Pages – Look for local directories, business listings, and event pages for opportunities to list your site. Start with your competitors – visit their Google Places pages and see where their citations are coming from (you’ll see a list of links titled “more about this place” at the bottom of the page, which is a great place to start.)

5 - Don’t Forget Your Website!

Not only will a well-optimized website attract organic search traffic by itself, it’s also the best citation you are likely to get for your Google Places page. In addition to following basic on-page optimization guidelines, be sure to have a local phone number and local address in plain text somewhere on your homepage


Google Business Photos


What is Google Business Photos?

It’s a new option for businesses to showcase the inside of their business when a potential customer is utilizing Google Maps or Google Street View. Google’s trusted photographers take panoramic photos, which will appear on your business’ Place page as individual still photos, and as panoramic 360-degree imagery using Street View technology


Yelp


For local small businesses, Yelp isn’t just an option — it’s a necessity. People in urban centers use it to choose where to go to dinner, where to buy clothes, and where to be entertained. Users decide where and how to spend their money using Yelp, so if your business is local, you need to curate your Yelp page.

If your business has been around long, you probably already have a page; you’re just not holding the reins yet. You’ll want to step in and take control of it as soon as possible, because using it correctly can bring you new business and prevent any negative word of mouth from hindering your growth and success.

Claiming or creating your Yelp business page is easy; just fill out a couple of online forms and answer a quick, automated phone call. It takes less than five minutes. Once you’re signed up, you’ll have access to tools that will help you engage your customers and spread the word about what you’re offering to the community. Here are a few basic tips for successfully leveraging the tools Yelp offers you for the benefit of your local business.


1. Fill Out Your Business Info Completely

Yelp for Businesses

Customers refer to Yelp business pages to learn about a business before going out to visit in person. If the information on the Yelp page is incomplete, they’re likely to move on to a competitor that provides more details simply because they’ll better know what to expect and are less likely to be surprised, be disappointed or have their time wasted.

The administration page for business owners offers a slew of fields and choices for sharing information to make it easy for users to know exactly what to expect. If you provide the information they’re looking for, they’re more likely to become reliable, paying customers. So fill out as much information as you can, and keep it up to date.


2. Respond Constructively to Customer Reviews

Last Spring, Yelp gave business owners the ability to respond to negative reviews, either to privately make apologies to reviewers or publicly correct misinformation. Don’t skimp on using this feature because you’re afraid of making things worse; it can turn a bad situation around. Dissatisfied customers will often give you a second look if you communicate to them that you value their input and are making changes to improve your business.

Yelp published an easy-to-use guide to constructive user review responses on its website. It includes examples of how not to respond to user reviews and how best to. Some of the tips are obvious, but some of them aren’t. They’re worth a look, as is my colleague Josh Catone’s recent post, “How to Deal with Negative Feedback in Social Media.”


3. Make Offers and Announcements Regularly

Yelp Image

Yelp allows you to share special offers and announcements not just with the people who visit your page, but with members of the larger community who might not even know about your business. When you create an offer or announcement on Yelp, it appears in the offers and announcements directory for your city. People who have never heard of your business will see them there. They’ll even find you in search results.

The more of these offers and announcements you make, the more likely it will be that Yelp users will discover your business, so come up with creative ways to draw people in, then share the news.


4. Display Yelp Badges on Your Website or Blog

Yelp provides badges that you can embed on your business’s website or blog that show that you’re on Yelp and engaged with your community. They’ll even tell visitors how many positive reviews you’ve had.

These badges give potential customers the impression that you have existing satisfied customers vouching for you, so they’ll be more likely to trust you with their business. The badges also act as links between your Yelp page and your other online outreach efforts. People can click a badge to read reviews or get more information. If a satisfied customer visits your site or blog, the badge might lead that person to leave his or her own positive review.

TriOut


TriOut helps you meet people, find new places and discover things to do in the Triangle.

Foodspotting

The Foodspotting website and mobile apps make it easy to find and share food recommendations: Instead of reading and writing restaurant reviews, you can share photos of specific foods you recommend and see what’s good around you wherever you go.

 

Here are a few ways you can encourage people to promote your restaurant on Foodspotting and their social networks and make it easier for potential customers to find you.

Encourage people to spot your dishes

Encourage people to download the Foodspotting iPhone app and share your dishes on Foodspotting! Foodspotters’ photos end up being shared with thousands of people, not only on Foodspotting but on Twitter, Foursquare, Facebook and Flickr. You can even offer incentives to people for spotting your foods. 

Post photos of your own dishes on Foodspotting

They don’t mind if restaurant owners take photos of their own dishes. Post photos of the latest dishes at your restaurant and attract more customers who will see your dishes when they’re nearby! 

Create a guide to your menu and reward people who complete it

It’s easy to publish a list of items you want customers to try, and you can even offer a reward to loyal customers who show you their completed guide. Check out Nombe’s guides (http://www.foodspotting.com/nombe) or create your own in minutes

Теперь я хочу Вам представить несколько инструментов которые помогут Вам привлечь больше локальных клиентов.

Первый инструмент это LevelUp

LevelUp is an entirely new way for local businesses & consumers to connect. 

следующий ThinkNear

ThinkNear is an easy and automated solution that allows local businesses to generate additional revenue and increase profitability. The ThinkNear system predicts when a business has unused capacity and seamlessly brings in people nearby by offering them discounts on their phone.


LocalResponse is a social advertising platform that aggregates public posts and “check-ins” across multiple platforms to help brands and businesses reach their customers.

Brands and agencies use LocalResponse to leverage real-time inventory for mobile activation. Local businesses use LocalResponse to manage their customer relationships through a self-serve web interface.

и еще один сервис для малого бизнеса называется FreeMonee

Merchants are always looking for new customer visits. The FreeMonee gift network enables thousands of stores and restaurants to invite the right customers to visit for free—no strings attached. 

With FreeMonee gifts consumers are matched to specific offers from merchants and are invited to discover new products and services that are personally relevant to them.

Хотите знать больше о других сервисах и интрументах для малого бизнеса?

Есть еще множество инструментов, сервисов и аппс для малого бизнеса если Вам интересно узнать о них, Вы можете связатся с нами и мы предоставим Вам всю информацию бесплатно. Также если Вы решыли продвигать свой бизнес через социалные сети и location-based services но у Вас нету времени на это, тогда свяжитесь с нами и мы поможем Вашему Вам.

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