Check-in to the latest social media tactic

Location-based social networking is on the cutting edge of social media marketing. In case you’re not familiar, it’s a system or application that delivers content directly to your mobile device, depending on your location. One of the most popular and well-known applications that utilize this technology is Foursquare. The app allows its users to check-in to any location, whether it is a venue, restaurant, clothing store or even a gas station! Many places on Foursquare have Special Deals that are granted to the user if they check-in to their location either for the first time or a certain amount of times. This is one way location-based applications can be a great tool for companies to draw in consumers.

Location-based social networking can be overwhelming for national or global brands though, so if the bigger companies do take advantage of it, they would start off on a small scale, implementing them in geographic markets. This makes location-based marketing very ideal for small to moderately sized businesses that want to maintain their focus on their own geographic market.

Here are some larger companies that take advantage of not only Foursquare, but the other applications built around location-based social networking:

New York Public Library uses Foursquare to award badges for those who explore public libraries in New York City. A badge is a feature  on Foursquare given when users reach certain milestones with their check-ins. For this badge, users are required to follow New York Public Library and check into three NYPL venues or the New York Public Library 5 times. NYPL badge holders get the opportunity to win free event tickets and participate in behind-the-scenes tours.

JetBlue uses Facebook Places, which is a similar application hosted through Facebook that people can use to check-in and check others in as well. JetBlue awards a certain amount of points for any user that checks-in to an official JetBlue airport location using Facebook Places. When the user accumulates 5000 points, they earn a free flight.

Reebok uses not only Foursquare but also the location-based gaming platform SCVNGR.  Working with Dick’s Sporting Goods, whenever a SCVNGR user would check-in to the store and complete challenges, such as taking and uploading photos of Reebok products, they would receive a $10-off coupon for a pair of RealFlex.

Target uses shopkick, one of the first mass-discount retailers to implement the location-based retail experience app. By checking-in on shopkick, users can earn points called kickbucks and other rewards by entering specific areas of a store. The kickbucks can be redeemed for Target Gift Cards or charitable donations.

H&M used GoldRun (iPhone app), when customers would photograph an item that they were interested in, they would instantly receive a 10 percent discount on any H&M purchase. The app also makes it easy to upload the photos onto Facebook.

No matter the app you use, it appears checking in is here to stay, at least for now anyway. Which of these apps do you currently use or are interested in exploring?

The (Unintentional) Live Tweeting of Osama’s Death

As most people worldwide found out last evening, the White House has announced that Osama Bin Laden is officially dead.  According to President Obama’s speech, the White House received a lead on Osama’s whereabouts in August.  This week, he authorized an operation to find and kill Osama.  According to US Officials, Bin Laden was shot in the head after resisting.

At Serendipit, we couldn’t help but share the social media twist on the story. 

Royal Wedding FEVER

As some of you already know, many members of our lovely Serendipit team are coming up on first year anniversaries – meaning we’re still getting over bouts of serious wedding fever!  That being said, we can’t help but gush over the marketing tactics surrounding the pending nuptials of Prince William and Kate Middleton.  Of course, they’re lucky to have the whole Prince thing going on for them – so they don’t really need too much help as far as publicity goes.  However, there are a ton of examples of how unrelated companies have used the Royal Wedding as a means to get publicity themselves.

Advertising to a New Demographic

Facebook has recently become the most visited site, surpassing even Google in traffic and rankings.  With its ability to reach a wide range of demographics in an environment they understand, Facebook will quickly become one of the top online advertisers. Facebook marketing allows marketers to target not only by age, location or language, but more specifically by ‘Likes’, interests, and relationship connections. Here are some easy to follow steps to take advantage of free tools and advertise successfully via Facebook:

Practice Perfect Timing!

Ever wonder how many times you should be tweeting each day? Which day of the week evokes the most Facebook comments?  Or what about the ideal time of day to publish a blog?

Social Media for Good

Leave it to Arizona Spa Girls‘ own Lisa Kasanicky to share with us a story that leaves us fully inspired and feeling lucky for all we have.  Thanks to her, we can now share this touching story with you, in hopes that you’ll share it with your friends and family as well. 

Congratulations, LinkedIn!

While it is not quite time for a “Happy Birthday” to LinkedIn, like Twitter received yesterday, it is definitely time for a congratulations. Early this morning, LinkedIn announced that they reached 100 million users – a huge milestone in the social networking world. 

Have You Voted Yet?

Alright, so we know that March isn’t typically thought of as voting season.  However, here in Serendipit-land, voting is at the top of our minds! One of our (tastiest!) clients is coming to the end of a huge contest.  The contest, a Jingle Challenge, urged musicians nationwide to put their creative caps on and write a catchy jingle all about Salsa Sensations.  We received a ton of really great submissions, and narrowed it down to eight finalists. 

The Serendipit Gals are Ready for Summer!

While temperatures are admittedly ideal in the Valley at the moment, with the gradual rise in degrees we can’t help but anticipate those triple digits will soon be upon us. But you won’t hear the Serendipit team complaining about the arrival of summer. Why not? Summertime brings our favorite luxury events … smartwater presents Summer Spaaah Series.

Looking for a job?

Looking for a job in this market can be anything but easy.  With companies downsizing left and right, it may feel like there aren’t any openings you are eligible for.  Some job-hunters go months without so much as a call back.  While we can’t make any guarantees, we do have a little bit of faith in the aid of our expertise: social media.