On Wednesday, we talked about foursquare’s newly launched brand pages, which allow companies to leave their own tips at other foursquare venues. Today, we’ll discuss a few ways to make your tips stand out — whether you’re posting on behalf of your business or sharing your own personal favorites through an individual account.
If you use foursquare, you’re already familiar with using your smartphone to check in to the venues you visit in real life. You’ve earned a few badges (maybe even the elusive Swarm badge) and taken over a few mayorships. But when was the last time you left a tip?
Tips are notes you leave on a venue for friends and other foursquare users to find. Think of tips as the types of recommendations you’d share with a friend before they visited somewhere for the first time — things to try, things to avoid, best places to park, anything that will make their experience better. When your friend (or someone “following” your brand page) checks into a venue where you’ve left a tip, your tip just might pop up on their phone, where they can add it to their To Do list or say “I’ve done this!”
The best tips have a few things in common:
- They’re actionable. Use action words like “Do this,” “Try this,” or “Order this.” The ultimate goal of leaving tips is to have the largest number of people choose “I’ve done this!” That moves your tip up to the top of the list, making it more likely your tip will be shared with others. If you can’t say “I’ve done this!” to a tip (like this El Bait Shop tip that just says, “Crazy selection of beers on tap”), find a different way to say it.
- They’re specific. Use one tip per recommendation. If that means you have to leave three tips, then leave three tips! Users are much more likely to choose “I’ve done this!” on a tip recommending one menu item, for example, than one recommending half the menu.
- They’re exclusive. Foursquare specials are all about the exclusivity of rewarding people “in the know,” so think of tips the same way. Do you know of a secret menu item or a hidden parking lot that always has a few spots open? Now’s your chance to share it.
- They’re real. Don’t spam foursquare venues with “tips” about your company, your products, your services, your events, or anything else unrelated to the venue itself. The foursquare community will flag these as spam and your tips will be removed. This is not about selling — it’s about sharing your expertise.
Ready to leave a tip? In the foursquare app on your smartphone, simply search for the venue, then click the Tip button in the bottom left corner of the venue page. Or visit foursquare.com from your computer, navigate to the venue’s web page and leave your tip in the text box.
Our challenge for you? Leave tips at three venues you checked in to in the last week. Want a bigger challenge? Scope out other users’ tips when you check in to a venue and see if anything strikes your fancy. Foursquare isn’t just about checking in anymore — it’s time to leave your mark.
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