This is a guest post by Joe Waters, the Director of Cause Marketing at Boston Medical Center. He’s written extensively about how nonprofits can use location-based social networks, such as Foursquare, to promote their cause.
Enter Joe…
The beauty of location-based services like Foursquare is that nonprofits of all types and sizes can leverage their social marketing benefits.
Here’s how causes are checking-in for success.
Nonprofit branding. The geo-location element of these services is a great way to put your nonprofit on the map. Start by checking into your nonprofit every day as a form of organizational branding. But take it one step further. The tips and shout-out features on Foursquare let you include interesting details about your cause. For example, I could check-in at the hospital I work at and post: “Heading over to our Prescriptive Food Pantry, the only one of its kind in the country.”
Volunteer management. Our annual Halloween event last month had 400 volunteers, many of whom were smartphone-toting college kids eager to give back. We had an extra edge with volunteers that checked-in on Foursquare. Not only did we know where they were, but we could call and text them instructions and questions.
Cause marketing. The Paypal, Microsoft partnership with Foursquare and Save the Children earlier this year at the SXSW Interactive Conference was a great example of location-based cause marketing. Here’s another. Recruit a corporate partner to make a donation to your cause every time a user checks-in to their store or restaurant. Another option is to reward check-ins with a badge.
Event promotion and recruitment. Walks, runs, rides and other types of -athons can use Foursquare too. The cause marketer in me is drawn to how corporate sponsors can promote -athons to shoppers when they check-in. “Join Home Depot employees and customers at the Walk for Cancer this Saturday!”
Shopping fund raiser. If your nonprofit is in or near a shopping district, you can recruit a group of stores and restaurants to offer a weekend discount to Foursquare users. The lucky shopper saves 10% when they check-in and the store makes a donation to your cause.
These are just a few ideas for using Foursquare. How do you plan on using Foursquare to support your cause?
Joe Waters is Director of Cause Marketing for a Boston hospital. He blogs on cause marketing and social media at Selfishgiving.com
One Reply to “Foursquare for Nonprofits: Getting Started”
Comments are closed.