Like most of my blog posts, I’ve been kicking this one around in my head for a while, not really sure if it’s worth posting or not. Then I heard about the upcoming Evolution of Foursquare Marketing Social Fresh panel, and thought the post just might be topical enough to publish.

For those of you who don’t know, Foursquare is a location-based social media service that allows users to “check in” at locations using their smart phone of choice. It was started by a couple of guys in New York City who wanted to get to know their city a little better by keeping up with where their friends were hanging out; e,g.,”Hey, I see that Chet just checked in at Clyde’s Pub over on 98th. I didn’t even know there was a pub over there. Nice.”

Right away you can see the marketing potential for restaurants, bars, retail outlets, and other places that have (and want more) foot traffic. When I check in at my local deli/pub Southsiders, all of my Twitter followers and Facebook friends (and Foursquare friends, for that matter) know about it. If they trust my judgment and have never heard of Southsiders, they might be inclined to check it out.

That’s all fine and good for places that get a lot of customers through the door, but at 1060 Creative, we’re a service-based company. Hence, we don’t get a lot of foot traffic. Sure, clients will come by to drop off or pick up stuff, or sit in on an edit, but largely, our door remains closed throughout the day. So how does a company like us market themselves with Foursquare?

Warning: what follows will probably not rock your Marketing World, but maybe it’ll spark an idea. The bottom line is that I don’t have a complete answer, but I can tell you that the use of Foursquare’s “Tips” feature is a way to at least let people know you’re in the area. Basically, Tips work like this: a user can leave a recommendation for visitors to a particular venue (“While you’re at Clyde’s Pub, please…try the veal”). These tips will pop up when a user checks into the venue. Furthermore, and this is important, a user’s phone will also display recommendations for venues that are near his or her current location; e.g., Chet checks in at Clyde’s Pub and a tip pops up, “Since you’re near Tony’s Pizza, try the Wednesday special. Free anchovies!”

To that end, we recently received a couple of inquiries about our services based on tips I posted. They’re pretty simple and generic, really:

• The tip for our current location in Fort Mill states, “Call on 1060 Creative for all your video production, post-production, and motion graphics needs. Visit www.1060creative.com or call 704-332-0111 for more info.” Well, someone checked in at location nearby, and our tip popped up. He called us the next day.
• Our old offices were in the Uptown Charlotte area. When we moved, I left a tip that informed people that we had moved, along with all the pertinent information. That tip also resulted in a phone call when someone checked in at a nearby business. (Note: yes, I know I should mark that location as “closed”, but, um, I have no plans to do so. Do the math. Bonus discussion question: Does that make me a bad Foursquare user?)

I related the above to a friend of mine (Jim Mitchem of Smash Communications) over lunch at a local sushi restaurant. In a more clever approach, he left this tip for the restaurant: “I had my first sushi here. Which reminds me, you should hire me for your next communications campaign.” I don’t think he’s had a nibble on that yet, but it’s out there, and who knows? Right? Hell, I’d call him I ran across that tip. Makes me chuckle…and I like hiring people who make me chuckle.

Anyway…look, I’m well aware that two measly phone calls and a non-sequitur comment made at a sushi joint is neither proof nor an example of the sizzling success that can be had by using Foursquare to market your company. But then again, to paraphrase an old friend, those phone calls were “two more than we’d received the day before”.

Something to think about, anyway.

–Ant.

Back in September of 2009, thanks to an invitation by a friend, Russell White of Pinnacle Solutions, my wife and I attended a gathering of the Charlotte Ambassadors for Maker’s Mark bourbon. On the surface, it seemed like just another promotional event: drink specials, banner stands with the Maker’s Mark brand, a delicious buffet featuring food that used Maker’s Mark as a key ingredient, even a Christmas ornament stand where a lovely assistant dipped a ceramic Christmas ornament in the bourbon maker’s trademark red wax.

(l to r) Me, my wife Sheila, Bill Samuels Jr., Russell White

A small groups of us were standing there, chatting, drinking, laughing, and a tall man in a blue sweater vest approached. He declared that “there was to be no excessive drinking going on”. We collectively smiled and replied with the wittiest comments we could muster. He stuck his hand out and introduced himself simply as Bill Samuels. What he left out of the self-introduction was that he was Bill Samuels Jr., President of Maker’s Mark.

He eventually fessed up to who he was and why he was there. Mr. Samuels was there at the event, working the crowd, thanking Ambassadors and their guests for coming out, and he was doing so in a very natural and sincere way. He was stopping to talk – and more importantly listen -  to each and every person there. More to the point, he wanted to talk about everything but Maker’s Mark. He asked us questions, listened to the answers, shared his thoughts. Indeed, it was a real conversation, not a thinly veiled marketing spiel. He never once asked me if I was an Ambassador. He simply wanted to tip back a glass or two of whiskey and chew the fat.

I should take a second here and briefly explain what the Maker’s Mark Ambassadors program is all about. Simply put, it’s a free club that anyone can join in the interest of spreading the word about the famous Kentucky bourbon. In addition to receiving free gifts (swag) from time to time, an Ambassador has their name placed on a barrel of whiskey at the Maker’s Mark distillery, suitable for bottling some seven years hence. At it’s heart, it’s a marketing vehicle, similar to the Guinness 1759 Society. It not only brings together fans of Maker’s Mark, but encourages them to spread the word.

OK, so that’s not necessarily a new idea. And the President of a company rubbing elbows with his patrons isn’t new, either. But it occurred to me about halfway through a conversation with Mr. Samuels that this was real social media. He didn’t have to be there. Without his presence, I would have attended the event and felt great about the Maker’s Mark brand. But here he was, talking to me about everything from basketball to riding motorcycles through the Kentucky hills.

When I commented on this, the fact that we weren’t talking about Maker’s Mark, he looked at me a little funny, paused, and said, “Well, that’s what we’re all really here for, isn’t it? To, you know, have a couple of drinks and enjoy each other’s company?”

I agreed, and he went on to explain that we all knew why we were there and what brought us together, so what good would it do to keep talking about it? He closed the subject by saying, “Anyway, enough of that. Tell me something about yourself.”

Now, a cynic might say that he’s clever like a fox. He’s selling the brand by not selling it. Maybe, but I don’t think so. Again, this was real, old school social media in action. The way they used to do it “back in the day”. Good, robust, sincere conversation with the purpose of connecting with other people. Today we have Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and countless other social networking websites. To be sure, these are great ways to connect with other people. But without the personal interaction, without the conversation, what good does it do? If you’re using social media to promote your business, then feel free to hawk your wares, but do yourself – and your business – a big favor. Get to know the people you’re connecting with. They’ll appreciate it.

I became an Ambassador the very next day, by the way. The swag will be cool, and I’m looking forward to seeing my name on the side of a barrel nestled somewhere in the rolling hills of Kentucky. At the very least, future events will put me in the same room as like-minded Maker’s Mark fans. And believe me, I learned my lesson from Mr. Samuels. The last thing I’ll talk about is the whiskey.

Just had a discussion with someone outside the Twitter bubble, curiously looking in. I mentioned I’m going on a short bike ride with a friend tomorrow. She asked, “Twitter friend or real friend”? This led to the discussion that my riding partner is a “real friend” (in that I knew her well before Twitter was but a gleam in the WWW’s eye). Indeed, in the teenage vernacular, Joanna is a BFF (Best Friend Forever).

I’m somewhat new to Twitter, but I’m fast developing some great friendships. Some I know in person; some I may never meet in person. Regardless, these friends shall be my TFFs.

Twitter Friends Forever.

So…who are your TFFs?

See that little button down there under the post? That allows you to tweet a post to your followers, and trust me, we’d be thrilled if you see something here that’s tweet worthy.