A funny thing happened a few weeks ago. I was at my new favorite bakery and café August First where I usually go to do some work or to meet with my business colleagues. August First opened in, well, August and since then has actively participated in social media via Facebook and Twitter. Burlington Tweeps have held two Tweetups there and the place is rocking.
Every time I go there I check in via Foursquare to let people know I'm there. I'm currently battling it out with Lou McKenna over mayorship. I also rave about their breads, especially the Kalamata Olive bread that my daughter and I now are addicted to.
Well, a while back I started getting tweets from friends that looked like this:
What August First did was pay attention to the Twitter chatter and then reward me for it. But they didn't tell me, they put the message out and let others Tweet about it. Talk about tapping into the power of the community!
I think this is a great, smart use of social media and shows the potential of what location based services like Foursquare could mean for local businesses. August First used classic steps in social media:
Every time I go there I check in via Foursquare to let people know I'm there. I'm currently battling it out with Lou McKenna over mayorship. I also rave about their breads, especially the Kalamata Olive bread that my daughter and I now are addicted to.
Well, a while back I started getting tweets from friends that looked like this:
What August First did was pay attention to the Twitter chatter and then reward me for it. But they didn't tell me, they put the message out and let others Tweet about it. Talk about tapping into the power of the community!
I think this is a great, smart use of social media and shows the potential of what location based services like Foursquare could mean for local businesses. August First used classic steps in social media:
- They listened to what was happening on social media
- They were generous in that they gave back instead of continually asking for something
- They let the community do their work for them
- It was fun
Of course, part of the fun was that everyone who saw this little picture below first thought I was passing bad checks ;-) And this was only a little example. Wait until some leverages this location based technology in a big way.
