My briefing evaluating Foursquare as a tool for marketers and users

Like many, I'm always questioning new technology asking "what can it do for my clients and me personally". I'm naturally slightly sceptical, so decided to adopt foursquare for a month to understand how it works, the user's perspective and the benefits for businesses.

What is Foursquare?

Foursquare is a mashup between an online loyalty card and geo-social networking tool. It's in the category of Location Based Services (LBS) or Proximity Marketing as some call it. Users access Foursquare from their smartphone and when they arrive at a specific destination, they 'check in'. In theory organisations can reward regular customers (the most loyal customer becomes 'the mayor') and encourage potential customers to share their wallet, with a range of special offers.

Foursquare - A user's perspective

Signing up is easy, the usual user name and password and As soon as I'd signed up and checked-in to my…

Wondering how to get started with QR codes? Our guide showing the marketing applications and campaign examples

QR Code Billboard As Smart Phones and Smart Phone Apps increase in usage we're seeing a lot more interest in how to use QR codes (also known as 2D barcodes or mobile tagging) as a part of the marketing mix. This in-depth discussion on how to use QR codes for marketing on our Smart Insights Linked In Group is an example of this interest. Late last year Nielsen predicted that smart phones will be the dominant device by the end of 2011, so there's certainly a reason to be taking this area more seriously.

What are QR codes?

Firstly, in case you're not 100% clear on what QR codes…

Setting Goals and questioning your Paid Search Performance

Data Analysis & Understanding - Looking Back

A key part of setting any goals for future campaigns is to look back and fully understand all the core KPIs for each digital marketing channel. Paid search is no different, in fact, there is usually so much data available for Paid Search the challenge is finding the data you really need to look at. During this blog post I'll show some of the core questions you should ask as part of this process so you can actively implement in your business. The key is to keep it simple, use data you trust don"€™t over analyse, commit and get going.

Strategic PPC Questions

These questions are very top level, defining a basic understanding of the overall performance of Paid Search. Work with your marketing team / agency or directly with your analytics package to answer these 4 straightforward questions. What did…

We recommend these slide decks whether you're a beginner or more advanced user of Google Analytics

Value: [rating=5] Google Analytics Training 301 View more presentations from ivantage. Our commentary: I was recently asking Matt Trimmer of iVantage who runs regular Google-sponsored Seminars for Success which are  Google Analytics training courses a technical question about Google Analytics for a situation I hadn't seen before. In this answer he referred me to this slide deck he has shared from Seminars Success he runs for Google. Wow! I thought that could be helpful for all sorts of levels of folks using Google Analytics. So I asked him whether I could share it…

Which marketers running the show do you find useful?

I love Twitter as a way of learning about new developments and approaches in a social way. But if you're looking to learn from others on Twitter, as well as socialise, you need to know who to follow. To help find good people to learn from, a couple of years ago, I wrote this guide to what I thought were the best marketers to follow on twitter.

What about client marketers?

My post was popular at the time, and I've learned loads from these guys around the world, but its weakness is that almost everyone on there is a consultant or works for an agency. Nothing wrong with that! But where are the client-side marketers?! I have identified a handful of marketers I follow who are different - they are client-side marketers actually walking the talk and running the show. I find following their tweets really…

What does your email signature say about your brand?

A signature is like a snapshot of your personality. Do you know when you sign your name in a personal or professional communication unknowingly you disclose much more about yourself, than you want to. In this post I surface some recent examples of the email signatures in customer service and offer thoughts about the personality of those behind them and the brands they represent. As a security conscious citizen I rarely disclose my signature for others to see. So increasingly I have become surprised when I see what seem like genuine signatures being used within customer service communications, particularly email. It also strikes me as odd that companies continue to 'sign off' their emails as if it is a traditional letter. Don't get me wrong - of course your email needs a footer and further contact information but when is it appropriate to add…