Home » Blog » Blog » Social Media
Bob Phibbs' Retail Sales Blog

Archive for the ‘Social Media’ Category

Social Media Referral: How Foursquare Can Save Your Day

My plane had just touched down at Chicago O’Hare at 11:10 AM last week mid-way to Los Angeles when I turned on my iPhone to discover a message. It was a reporter for a national news magazine looking for information.

Realizing I didn’t have the needed information, I called the reporter back. After speaking awhile I realized that David, a guy I met at the National Retail Federation last January would be perfect for the reporter.

What was his last name? All I could think of was P with difficult spelling. And I didn’t have his contact information in my phone or laptop. (Sorry David.)

I follow David on Twitter but that was no help and then it hit me, Foursquare.

For those of you who have written this game of a social media app off without trying it, I hope you’ll reconsider after this story.

For those of you unfamiliar with it, Foursquare is an app mainly for people in big cities with Blackberries, iPhones and the like to help you meet up with your friends and let you earn points and unlock badges for discovering new places, doing new things and meeting new people.  You sign-up and then invite friends. You can do this allowing it to scan your Facebook or Twitter followers for people already signed up for Foursquare, then send a request to allow you to follow them. Only if they accept can you follow them. I think it will morph into a digital loyalty card for restaurants and bars but that’s another post.

Mostly this is kind of a “Where’s Waldo” for people you know. I have one guy who is a cameraman for network news who often is at the White House or other presidential activities plus about ten others who travel alot. In a quick moment of voyeurism, it is interesting to check once a day.

When you’re at conferences it can be useful to shout out to people you know electronically for meeting up.  But for me on a daily basis, living in a village of 800 in New England, its usefulness wasn’t as apparent. That is until last week at 11:10  AM.

I went to my Foursquare app on my iPhone, clicked Friends and found David. I clicked on his name and up popped the information he chose to share on Foursquare. Now I could call him, text him, email him or go to his Twitter feed.

How cool is that? I can’t do that with LinkedIn, Twitter, or Facebook .

I then called David, told him about the reporter and he followed up within minutes.

Without that Foursquare information, I would have been lost and he would have missed the referral.

Like most social media, there is valuable information only if you know it is there. I invite you to sign-up and find me from my Twitter profile @theRetailDoctor. Then you can recommend me to your media friends:)

PS- Those of you who read those stupid articles and posts fearing burglars will be breaking into your home because you checked in at Tom’s ice cream or wherever via Foursquare, a burglar is more likely to watch your home and know you are gone to work from 9-5 M-F.  If you’re that concerned, just don’t link your posts to Twitter or Facebook so Foursquare remains a closed system. You can be careful but no need to be paranoid.

PPS – Want to learn more about social media for business?

Why People Quit Facebook: They’re Bad Neighbors

Facebook now has over 400 million members and is more popular than Google.  You’d think with all those members people would be happy. But I’m noticing frequently they simply don’t check their own page regularly.

I think Rod Dreber spoke for a lot of people when he said in a blog post last year, “I have no time for Facebook.  If I used it, I would broadcast irrelevant personal news, like the excitement we had late at night here last night, when a varmint invaded our chicken run and tried to make off with one of the hens (epic fail, but not without lots of lost feathers); and I would complain about my massive allergy attack that’s had me bedridden all day, as well as the return of the vertebra problem that’s made my left arm semi-numb. But who cares?”

Life is made up of little details.  Our parents kept up with neighbors by learning the minutia of their lives. Not in the big Nancy Grace sort of way but tiny joys and occassional challenges.

You’re not on Facebook only to see what you can get out of it, you should be on Facebook for what others can get out of it too.

In a disconnected world that demands we pay attention to everything, we have lost the little moments of sharing.  We don’t hold potlucks or fondue parties with our neighbors like the 50′s, but we can devote a few minutes a day to letting them know what you are up to.

Yes it is much easier with an iPhone or other PDA but it is a choice to think of keeping in touch with friends.  Just like it was a choice for your mother to strike up a conversation with the neighbors while she hung her laundry out to dry on the clothesline or your dad to make small talk at the Little League game.  They didn’t have to do it, they chose to stay connected.  That’s what made great neighborhoods – a bit of sharing.

Another reason some quit Facebook is, well let’s face it, our friends don’t see pictures of us meeting the President, or going backstage at the Oscars or doing something really amazing like bungie jumping the Golden Gate bridge; we’re just picking up the kids, or posting a quick video of a thunderstorm or the garden we’ve just planted. We aren’t as a rule sexy, particularly smart or all that special – that’s probably why we’re friends.

Yes its easy to quit and say it takes too much time or no one ever posts much, but move past that. What have you done to make it interesting for your friends to check their Facebook page?

Instead of just reading, comment on a picture or post – something more than: “Great!” or a thumbs up. Post a picture or a link to an interesting item and comment on why you are posting it.Share a one line review of a movie.

Instead of taking yet another quiz or building a farm, work on taking care of your friends and you’ll find you will have a vibrant community that both gives and receives.