Is Your Business Taking Advantge of Virtual Graffiti?
Location based digital graffiti is absolutely a trend to watch. Foursquare recently announced that they added 1 million users in a single year. To put that in perspective, it took Twitter two years to reach 1 million users.
As users become comfortable with, and addicted to, location based social networking services such as Foursquare and Gowalla, users are going above and beyond the simple check-in.
At college campuses across the country, students are already leaving elements of virtual graffiti around campus. For example, at the University of North Carolina Charlotte, a student who goes by the Foursquare nickname Mock Redneck Jr. left this note at the library:
“The library has free wifi, barely legal girls, and a warm place to drop a deuce.”
While this may seem harmless, imagine what would happen if a prospective student and parent “checked-in” to the library and saw this note. Would it negatively impact their impression of the school? Absolutely.
Just as college kids across the country are leaving virtual graffiti on their campus, your customers are adding virtual graffiti to their check-ins at your place of business. Check out Berry Chill, a frozen yogurt shop in Chicago, IL:
As location based social networking services get more sophisticated, your customers will be able to upload photos, and record videos, leaving powerful virtual graffiti that will impact the purchasing decisions of both current and future customers.
So, as a business owner, or marketer, how do you minimize the risk of virtual graffiti while still encouraging customer interaction? Here are 3 ways:
1) Reward Helpful Virtual Graffiti
Inspire your customers to create virtual graffiti. Reward customers who upload helpful tips with their check-ins. A check in is not an endorsement of your business, but taking the time to craft a tip and leaving a little piece of virtual graffiti is absolutely an endorsement and should be rewarded.
2) Create a Virtual Graffiti Contest
Have customers vote every month on their favorite piece of virtual graffiti left on your businesses website, social media pages, or location based service profile. Offer the winner a prize. This will encourage folks not only to leave virtual graffiti, but make sure their friends vote on the tip/photo/ or joke they left, building brand awareness online.
3) Integrate Virtual Graffiti Into Your Existing Communication Strategy
If you send out a newsletter, post reviews in your place of business, or have an email marketing campaign, be sure to include great pieces of virtual graffiti that customers have left. Did you get a rave review in a Foursquare tip? Include it in your newsletter. Make a poster out of customer generated Facebook photos and put it up on your wall.
People have opinions, and they like to share them. Increasingly, with the explosion of location based tools, customers can leave their opinions in the form of virtual graffiti that is here to stay, and will only get more sophisticated.
How are you going to use customer generated virtual graffiti to your advantage?
To read more about virtual graffiti, you can read these articles from Debaird and Fast Company
Daniel Prager is a recent college grad, who is looking for the next great opportunity in advertising, digital pr, or marketing. Most recently, he was a social media strategist at an interactive marketing agency in Chicago. He loves to talk about the changing world of business communications, popular culture, music, sports, and craft beer.
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