Thanks For Electing Me Mayor!

Ok so I wasn't really elected but I still feel special. What am I talking about? A fairly new set of Social Media tool which makes going places a bragging right. The two apps I know of are Foursquare and Gowalla. In a nutshell whenever you go to the gym, restaurant, sporting event, mall, etc.. you "Check-In" and you are awarded a prize. The software also tells you who else in your network of friends is there and who has been there the most. The person who has been there the most is the Mayor. I know it may not sound that fun at first but after a while it becomes a competition and encourages you to visit places you may not have previously. Here is where the marketing opportunitycomes in. A savvy business owner can monitor this competition and post the current top ten. I would put it on my Twitter and facebook pages. I'd taunt the number 2 and 3 to get them to beat number 1. As the competition heats up others who have these apps get informed and start to wonder about this place that has so many people trying to become number one. As you can now see the top three have become accidental salesman for your establishment. What a great way to create buzz and it is easy.

PS I just listened to a Marketing Over Coffee episode. They had even more ideas.

So what are you waiting for? Make a Poster and let the competition begin! (Need help getting started? You know how to find me)

Fred Abaroa
The Marketing Imagineer

fred [@]TMIFred.com

Twitter:
@FredXpress
@TMIFred

Blogs:
www.TheMarketingImagineer.com
Podcasts:
WordOnTheTweet.net
MakingMountainsOutOfMoleHills.com