Foursquare has just added a nifty new feature that’s a must-have for any local business that tries to be smart about its advertising: The “Add to My Foursquare” button.
This button makes it very easy for website visitors to become actual store visitors. I’m looking at it as a sort of opt-in geospecific remarketing campaign. Did you follow that? Allow me to explain.
The average website visitor checks out your website, may or may not be interested, and even if she is interested, may or may not actually pay you a visit. With the average campaign conversion rate in the single digits these days, the sad reality is that even an engaged user has a better than average chance of totally forgetting about you as soon as she clicks away from your site.
Remarketing is marketing to site visitors who have already left. Google now allows you to target them with ads that follow them around on the content network until they return to your site and convert into a sale. These campaigns usually have incredibly high conversion rates, but they’re pay per click, and only really relevant to online-only businesses with a clear conversion process (like a shopping cart).
Enter the Foursquare button. A simple click, and your business is saved in her To-Do list. The next time she checks in at that hair salon across the street from you, she’ll get a pop-up on her phone reminding her that she wanted to check out your all natural fruit smoothie bar. And as long as she’s in the area, why not?
Bottom Line: Installing this button is a no-brainer for any retail location with an online presence. Expect a high conversion rate from anyone who clicks this button.
Note to Foursquare: How about some analytics to go with this button? I’d love to see some data tracking on who clicked the button, and how long it takes for them to actually come visit the location.
