By Amanda Phraner
About a month ago, a co-worker convinced me to join Foursquare, which I read somewhere is the new Twitter. If you haven’t checked out Foursquare yet, it provides capabilities for its users to “check-in” and tell friends where they are located. Each check-in can earn you various points, badges and even special offers from local businesses.
Foursquare seems like a great opportunity for businesses to connect with frequent customers and market their services. My question is: Can it also be of value to the grassroots advocacy world? Are there ways for organizations to use Foursquare to engage members and motivate activists?
Right now it is hard to believe there are enough users for Foursquare advocacy to be effective, but at the rate social media networks are growing, it may only be a matter of time.
While I’m still navigating the ins and outs of this new location-based social network, here are some top of mind thoughts on how to make Foursquare work for grassroots advocacy:
Check-in day across the country
Organizations could setup virtual “call-to-action” days, encouraging members to check-in at a specified location, or type of location on a given day. This could be visiting their local legislators, volunteering at soup kitchens or attending rallies. Organizations could then provide data visualizations of this information.
Earn badges as an advocate
Foursquare has a number of badges that members can earn, like explorer badges for visiting a number of locations and jetsetter badges for travel. Foursquare could create advocacy badges earned by checking-in to certain locations, inviting friends to join or completing certain activities. Different organizations could have their own advocacy badges or ask members to list them in the “shout” when checking-in at particular locations.
Create check-in options for advocacy activities
Foursquare has partnered with several brands like Zagat, the New York Times and Harvard University to provide experiences for members in a tips list. Members can add tips to their to-dos or check that they have participated in that item. Organizations could setup a similar process for members to check-in but for activities like sending-a-letter, making a phone call or attending a townhall. Members would see their friends and other activity members who are participating in these activities.
What do you think; can Foursquare be used for advocacy?
Good article, thank you. I just started using Foursquare so that I could give clients honest advice on how to use it effectively. Your article hit all the right points!