Journey

Foursquare For Business

// August 7th, 2010 // No Comments » // Social Media Marketing, Technology

Foursquare is a steadily growing social networking that allows people to checkin at different venues. So what if you own/manage one of these venues? Well you can claim it on Foursquare and view detailed statistics on checkins as well as setup Foursquare specials. There is a whole lot more information available on the Foursquare website. However let’s go through some of the dynamics that are not covered on the website.

Foursquare Tips

Foursquare allows users to add a tip to your venue. These tips are there to help other users get the best service at a given venue. Sometimes these tips will be negative which will be a clear sign as to what to improve. Other times the tips may coincide with specials, like enter free before 11pm, or happy hour is between 8-9. No matter what the tip is, you want your customers to leave tips, it is crucial interaction that will help to promote your venue.

Foursquare Specials

You can create specials to reward repeat customers and also to increase the frequency of their visits! Every business has repeat customers, so why not reward them? If someone knows they are appreciated they are going to come back more often. Plus using Foursquare you can reward based on frequency, so for every x checkins within y days you can give them a special! There are so many ways to leverage this feature of foursquare and it is not just giving away products/discounts, it is creating buzz for your business. When someone earns a special then they tell their friends, who then share the story or try to get the special as well. What does this mean for you? The best advertising ever, direct referrals from friends.

Foursquare and the snowball effect

Foursquare allows users to connect with other social networks, namely Facebook and Twitter. According to Facebook the average user has 130 friends. The average twitter user also has 126 followers. Foursquare allows users to share their location with Twitter or Facebook, thus immediately notifying people that they are at a location. Earlier we mentioned creating buzz about a venue, when people see their friends visiting a venue on Foursquare they are immediately more willing to try it (it is viewed as a direct referral from a friend).

When a user shares their location on Facebook then an average of 130 friends will also see that the person has checked in at your venue. Many people have much more friends than 130, I have 750+ which means that potentially you just received free advertising to hundreds of people. Have five Foursquare users share their location in a day and that is 650+ on average. Have just 5 users check-in every day and that’s 19,500 per month. Once again this is direct friend referrals. How does that compare to your standard advertising methods (Radio, TV, Print)? The great thing is, many venues are already getting more business because of Foursquare, by claiming your venue the benefit is being able to track the statistics as well as create specials to generate more business. Think of it as the yellow pages on steroids.

Foursquare is a wonderful accessory to any social media marketing campaign. It can generate huge buzz for your venue online and the results are trackable, you can see in numbers how much your brand is being mentioned. Via tips and tweets you can also see what people are recommending to friends/family and take notes on areas to improve on. You can also find out who are your most loyal customers and reward them!

For more information on Foursquare and how to claim your venue, please contact me: info <at> dmitridawkins.com or on Twitter: http://twitter.com/dmitridawkins

Foursquare – The next big thing?

// August 6th, 2010 // 2 Comments » // Cool Stuff, Technology

Have you ever heard about Foursquare? By definition it is a geo-location social networking application. For the rest of us, it means it tracks your activities at venues, as a game between friends. There is also a leader board where you can compete with friends each week to see who has gained the most points. Points are given based on how many check-ins you have done that day, if it’s your first time, if you are adding a venue etc. As part of the game, you can also unlock badges and at crowded venues (like a conference) view who else is there.

So how does it help? Well I have been using it for some time now and it is fun! You can become the mayor of venues by signing in the most at a venue within the past 60 days. Want to go out on a Friday night? Just check your friends and see where they have signed in to help choose a destination. Do you like a particular product or service at the venue? Leave a tip for other users! Tips show up when you sign in at a venue, so sign in before you order/purchase. Additionally some venues are partnering with Foursquare to put on specials, so on your third sign in you get a free drink, or when you are a mayor you get a discount on your bill. So far I know the following Jamaican venues offer specials: Chilitos, Fiction Lounge and more are coming!

Is it secure? With Foursquare you have to approve friends to share your location with. Also you can sign in off-grid which allows you to receive points and badges without sharing your location with your friends or the venue you have signed in with. With the right security settings you never have to share you don’t have to worry about sharing your location with anyone.

Who can use it? Anyone with an Iphone, Blackberry or Android powered phone. You will also need a mobile data plan to connect to Foursquare’s servers online. Plus Foursquare can already find friends using the service by connecting to Facebook and Twitter!

In the coming weeks I will be writing more about Foursquare, so stay tuned!

Edit: please also see Video below:

Why I love Jamaica Hashtag

// August 3rd, 2010 // No Comments » // Social Media Marketing

Earlier in the year, after learning more about social media etc, I wondered, why can we not find more information about Jamaica online. I started tagging tweets with the #whyIloveJamaica hashtag so that people could easily find reasons to visit Jamaica. Currently the Jamaica Tourist Board is doing a great job with their @visitJamaicaNow and @askJamaica twitter accounts but we can do more!

Strawberry, Pineapple and Mango Mojitos from Twisted Kilt in Montego Bay, Jamaica

So when out and about in Jamaica while posting that great sunset photo, or even remembering moments just tag it! #whyIloveJamaica! I have also created a twitter account with the aim of re-tweeting those that use the hashtag, so that visitors can have a non-stop stream of reasons from real people and not just paid marketing. The internet wants real reviews, let’s give it to them!

How to use one Gmail address for multiple Twitter accounts the efficient way!

// July 29th, 2010 // No Comments » // Cool Stuff, Social Media Marketing

Earlier I saw the following tweet in my feed from Ingrid Riley:

Living the life on $500

// February 6th, 2010 // No Comments » // Life

Well last night I was out on a mission, have a blast for $500 or less. First stop was Acropolis Gaming lounge in Barbican, Acropolis has a Friday special where they sell a cue of rum for $250 and the chasers are free. This meant that me and my group of ppls could all sit and par for a while, the music was good and the overall vibe was nice. After being there for about 3 hours we left and went to a friend’s house, where we pooled our remaining resources and bought some Pepsi and snacks and continued hanging out. I got home at 2:30 AM. At no point did I feel the need to spend more money or that we were in any lack. One person who wasn’t drinking at Acropolis bought food and we all had the fries.

All in all a very nice night, I will try something else next week. Please note this didn’t include food or gas because no matter where you go you will have to buy food and gas (you have to eat dinner everyday don’t you?). This was calculated based on money spent on entertainment. Fact is, you don’t need to spend $5k at a party to have fun, you just need the right people and the right place.

Embracing Social Media with Jamaican Hospitality

// January 26th, 2010 // No Comments » // Life, Technology

The internet has changed in so many ways since I first used it in 1996. From early on I realised the importance of branding yourself online. I created my first hotmail account with a phrase people would relate to me, followed by variations of one username for different forums and websites. It was only three years ago that I became aware of the true concept of online branding. Since then I have setup several blogs and websites to some degree of success.

2010 is a pivotal year because I plan to make this, a year of fruitfulness. Taking all of this online experience of trying different things and actually making it work. In December 2008 I launched my first major website RaceJamaica.com I was surprised at how quickly it took off and honestly was not prepared for that level of growth. During the past year it has had its ups and downs, with issues updating content fast enough and the quality of content on the site. The difference between this site and others before it, was that it is designed with social media marketing in mind. User contribution was supposed to be the main content generator for the website. Unfortunately my user base was just not ready to contribute. This year I plan on re-launching the website for the 2010 Jamaican motorsports season. Not only am I relaunching RaceJamaica.com but I am also launching a whole new online assault.

Besides all the goodies I have planned for RaceJamaica.com I am also working this year on properly branding myself. Recently the main question people ask me is “What is this social networking thing and how can it help my business?” followed by “Do I need to be on Facebook and Twitter?”. There is no basic answer. As a Jamaican I appreciate social networking, because that is how most business deals are carried out locally on a who-you-know and who-knows-you basis. People are the main reason why companies constantly support each other, whether it be a family, social, or background tie. Online social media works the same way.

What else is in the works? Well I have four main projects this year, that I plan to stick to, as time goes by and they are further developed you will hear about them. You can also check out my Official twitter page @dmitridawkins or keep checking this blog for updates, but the majority is yet to come! Don’t worry though, if all goes as planned, you will be hearing about it.  Ciao! Thanks for reading!

Facial Hair

// January 25th, 2010 // No Comments » // Humour, Life

Ok this is the type of post that I hate on personal blogs, and I normally wouldn’t comment on the issue, except I found this hilarious pic. So recently I was considering re-growing my Mustache, I doubt I will, not that you care, but according to the following pic I am a nerd:

Abstraction

// January 23rd, 2010 // No Comments » // Humour, Technology

8 Ways to Prepare Your Pets for War – The Oatmeal

// January 22nd, 2010 // No Comments » // Humour

This is just hilarious, someone sent it to me on twitter, and I just have to share it with all of you.

8 Ways to Prepare Your Pets for War – The Oatmeal.

My mother is a techie

// January 17th, 2010 // No Comments » // Life

About a year ago I came to the realisation that my mother is a techie. It was very hard to understand because outside of using OpenOffice, Firefox and the occasional Solitaire she didn’t know how to do much else. She has been using a Macbook for her day to day computing for nearly 4 years now and is a fierce Apple fanatic.

What makes her a techie is the things she takes for granted. The fact that she uses Virtualbox to host a virtual pc running Windows XP to do her taxes (Jamaican tax form programs are Windows only). She uses a dual head screen setup to work on her book and Google ig to manage her rss feeds and to preview her email. She also uses open source software like OpenOffice and Firefox, and knows what open source means. When she asked me to start designing a website for her, she insisted that it have integrated social networking capabilities and wanted it to scale dynamically on this new cloud computing she had heard of. On the mobile side she uses her “Google phone” a G1, which runs android and She uses the built in GPS to not only give her directions in traffic, but also to use Google Latitude to update locations with my sister and I.

I am pleased at her progress considering where she is coming from, and even though if you asked her about certain things she will say “I dunno” she most likely is already using it in some way or form without even realising it. Way to go Mom!