You Can Monitize Social Media
It seems like everyone is teaching classes on Facebook, foursquare, and Twitter, but when you ask them how they measure social media Return-On-Investment you often find that to be a lesson you'll need to learn for yourself.
That's because most social strategies are built around learning more about your prospects and clients, building your brand, establishing emotional connections with clients, and engaging those clients in a positive way. These are important elements to encourage sales, but they are usually not the sale itself.
The most successful businesses using social media campaigns have well planned out strategies and understand their customer's behaviors and buying habits. A social media program strategy should include tasks, actions and goals in which the goals can be measured into an outcome. Most of all it should engage your audience with communications and rewards.
One example of a social media strategy where you can actually measure ROI is by using foursquare to reward frequent and loyal visitors. For this to work individuals first sign up on foursquare. Once they have a foursquare account they can then use their cell phone to check in on foursquare whenever they visit their favorite locations. The GPS in their phone physically identifies their location. The more often they check in the more points they earn. This in turn can unlock badges such as Mayor (top visitor), and may earn special prices and prizes.
The business owner of a particular location can choose to reward the Mayor and other check-in visitors with a prize, a coupon or a special offer to encourage greater loyalty, more frequent visits, competition between foursquare members, and greater sharing about special finds between foursquare friends. Because this is a social environment, visitors often tell their foursquare friends about great specials and rewards, and this encourages other s to come in, not only to gain the prizes but also to socialize with their friends.
Foursquare also allows members to offer tips to friends and other foursquare members, telling them for instance about a great tasting latte' or an unadvertised special.
Finally, when a visitor checks in to one location, foursquare can also suggest specials at other nearby locations. This means that when you check in at your favorite coffee shop you may discover there is a great sale at the co-op next door or a special discount at the gas station on the corner.
Examples of some of the recent foursquare benefits given in and near our community are:
- JJ's Coffee and Wine Bar Show that you've checked-in on Foursquare and get a free coffee drink every 5th visit
- Great Harvest Bread Company - Minnetonka Free coffee or iced tea for the mayor! Show you are our mayor on your phone and we'll serve it right up!
- Houlihan's Score a free order of Frites every time you check in on Foursquare! Show this to your server to redeem. Prove that you're the newly-crowned Mayor and get a free Small Plate up to $6.
- Red Moon Chinese Cafe Show that you've checked in on Foursquare and get a free lunch buffet on your fifth visit to Red Moon!
- Best Buy Mobile Buy one get one half off any accessory! See an associate for details
- Pizza Hut The Mayor of this Pizza Hut receives one free single order of breadsticks per day with the purchase of a large pizza! (For Dine-in and Carry-Out orders placed at the restaurant only)
- Noodles & Company Show that you've checked in to this location, buy one of our new Sandwiches, and get a free Rice Krispy Treat!
- Crumb Gourmet Deli Free drink with every visit for the current mayor. One free sandwich or salad for every new mayor! Let the games begin!
- Wildfire Show your server that you're the Mayor of Wildfire Eden Prairie and receive a complimentary Spinach and Artichoke Fondue!
- Hopkins Tavern On Main For our Mayor: Come in for a free drink from our happy hour drink menu (tap beer, house wine or rail cocktail)! (Show our bartender that you're mayor to redeem). Thanks for coming!
You get the point! The secret to this social media campaign is using a platform that allows people to compete for status and rewards them for their viral marketing efforts while providing you with measurable results. It all starts by understanding the behaviors of your customers and what would motivate them to make a purchase. As the venue owner you can measure the outcome with real live venue stats on foursquare, count the giveaways, or simply sit back and count the customers coming in the door.
about the author: Tina Combs is a principal at eye 4 image inc. an Internet Marketing company near Minneapolis, MN. eye 4 image is a full-service internet marketing company whose services include SEO, SEM and strategic consulting. Learn more about eye 4 image by visiting http://www.eye4image.com
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