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. Continue reading “Foursquare for Nonprofits: Getting Started”