1. Mayor specials: reward your single most loyal customer.
2. Frequency-based specials: for example, ‘Foursquare users get 10% off every third check- in’.
3. Check-in offers: for example, ‘Show your check-in to the waiter for a free drink!’
4. Wildcard specials: for example, ‘Show us your “newbie badge”’ to earn a free night’s stay!’

A couple of days ago, Foursquare uploaded an animation explaining Foursquare in plain English.

Hi! I want to learn more about foursquare! from foursquare on Vimeo.

By the way: Avoidr uses location-based social networking software for the mobile devices game Foursquare to check where your not-friends are, so that you can avoid them.

Google+ is a social network operated by Google with profiles, status updates, circles, hangouts and sparks.

• Pros: easy way to interact with clients and customers. Can be integrated with other Google applications.
• Cons: Administration is difficult and some small business owners find most clients don't use Google+

How to begin:

1. Google+ provides a step-by-step guide to setting up your Google+ pages with the ability to customize your page's public profile.
2. Add team members, VIPs, and customers to separate Google+ circles to organize your news feeds.
3. Connect your Google+ page to your website using the Google+ badge.
4. Begin posting content such as status updates, videos or photos to your Google+ page.

People Talking About This is the number of unique users who have created a “story” about a page in a seven-day period. On Facebook, stories are items that display in News Feed. Users create stories when they:

• like a page
• post on the page wall
• like a post
• comment on a post
• share a post
• answer a question
• RSVP to a page’s event
• mention the page in a post
• tag the page in a photo
• check in at a place
• share a check-in deal
• like a check-in deal
• write a recommendation

Whenever a person takes one of these actions, it counts toward People Talking About This.

The bottom line?

[...] consumers want more — more experiences, more engagement, more rewards, and more reasons to connect with each other and brands through social media. And brands are missing the boat. They see the benefits of reaching out to customers through social channels, but they aren’t yet fully invested.

The report sees 4 ways to narrow that gap:

1. Enable peer-to-peer interactions. 9% of brands think their Facebook fans want to connect with each other. 60% of consumers say they like brands on Facebook in order to connect with other brands. Your consumers want to talk to each other. Make it easy for them - open a forum, put Q&A on your Facebook page, launch a customer community.
2. Get serious about social support. 63% of consumers search online for others with similar problems when they need help - 19% of brands think that's the case. 47% of consumers expect a response to an online service request in 1 hr - 30% of brands use social media to improve service and responsiveness. 50% of consumers expect to find service and support on Facebook - 10% of brands provide it. Consumers want to help and get help from other customers and they do a bang up job of it. It costs between $6 and $75 to resolve customer issues over the phone. It costs as as little as $.05 to help customers find answers online. Social support is a no-brainer for 2012.
3. Ideate with social customers. 41% of social customers expect to share product ideas on Facebook. 9% of brands ask customers to help them innovate on Facebook. With few brands actively asking fans for feedback and ideas, smart marketers can leap ahead in 2012 by running idea exchanges - and you'll get a real-time, always on focus group that will drive better, faster innovation for the brand.
4. Gamify the social experience. 67% of consumers expect special treatment when they like a brand on Facebook. 7% of brands reward their most active contributors. 46% of consumers expect incentives and rewards when they connect with brands online. 7% of brands offer social customer incentives and rewards. Give social customers something to work for, a reason to level up. Reward them for their contributions, give them rank and reputation, let them take it with them as the move about the social web.

This is my favourite one:

Bit.ly (now Bitly.com, since .ly is a Libyan domain extension)

Bitly is a URL shortener, but can be used (sneakily) to find out how influential a brand or person actually is. By adding a +to the end of a bit.ly link, you'll be taken to a stats page where you can see how many people have clicked on that specific link, where they were when they clicked on the link (physical locaIon and site location) and when these clicks happened (dates) amongst other things. If you have a client with a Facebook page, you could have them share a link, shortened by bit.ly about themselves and one about something else to see what their fans are most interested in. Or if youre looking at a brand or a competitor's Twitter  feed,  you  can  see  how  many  people  click  on  the  links  that  they re  sharing  (if  they  share  links  using  Bit.ly.)

According to a 2011 Dell-commissioned Forrester Consulting survey of 200 US-based companies, 63% of surveyed companies believe that listening and digital engagement has helped them see positive results in brand awareness.
But what areas of their business will benefit most from listening and digital engagement?

More in this Infographic: How Brands Listen in the Digital Age @ getsatisfaction.com

1. People don't trust brand as much. They are influenced by friends/family/contacts (Source: Vision Critical, “Online Social Networks: Trust Not Included” (.pdf) Sep 15, 2010-
   Active social media users also tend to be influential offline (Source: Nielsen, State of the Media: The Social Media Report Q3 2011)
2. Influence is shifting from media to individuals. As a consequence, startups are rushing to measure and rank influencers (Source: Eloqua & JESS3, The Message is the Messenger, March 8 2011, Forrester 2010; AdWeek, A Million Little Klouts, Dec 14 2011)
3. Influential people can spread messages faster than ever.
4. Today's mega celebrities engage directly with fans; some became influential by spreading content online (Source: Dissecting Justin Bieber infographic by Crisp Social, Mashable Nov 6)

More in this slidedeck below:

Timeline of the most shared events in 2011

Some highlights:

• Facebook makes up 52.1% of sharing on the web
• Twitter makes up 13.5% of sharing (still less than email, print and favorites) but grows 576.9%. In Japan, Twitter makes up 52% of sharing.
• Tumblr sharing grows by 1299.5% and is accelerating
• Address bar sharing creates 1600% viral lift.

1. Leadership team, focused on leadership, vision, the overall program ROI, and driving business results.
2. Business Unit Facing team, helping multiple business units get on board.
3. Marketing Facing, focused on customer interaction, but shifting towards advocacy or enabling customers to respond to each other.
4. Program Management: developers and analysts who conduct reporting and brand monitoring programs.

Further reading:

• Data: Composition of a Corporate Social Media Team @ web-strategist.com
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