Mashable today covered a story that users of location-based social networking tool Foursquare could qualify for discounts at Starbucks. Social-media savvy customers simply need to regularly check-in at their favourite Starbucks. If you are the person that checks-in most at a particular venue then Foursquare rewards you by making you the Mayor of that location. Starbucks is one of the most pro-active brands in the social media space and is rewarding it’s Starbucks Mayors with a discount voucher for a Frappuccino.
The strategy behind this is a simple one, a check-in on Foursquare is the equivalent of a status updates on Facebook or a tweet on Twitter, in that the message is instantly transmitted to your Friends / Followers. This kind of thirst quenching viral promotion via social media puts your brand at the forefront of the customers mind and is another fine example of digital viral marketing.
Is location the next big digital marketing trend? For some food-retail businesses the answer probably is an immediate yes, for the rest of us it’s a case of watching, listening and learning.
