Thursday, September 30, 2010

Hi, I'm the Mayor of Nick's Bar & Grill

Have any of your used Foursquare?

It seems to be a pretty polarizing piece of social networking. Either people find it addicting or completely ridiculous. It's a website or an app where you "check in" to a place. Usually a store or a restaurant. Your friends can check in as well and see where you are.

I've been thinking . . . is there a way, authors or booksellers can use this to their advantage?

At first, I couldn't come up with anything useful. People check in, that's it. You can be the mayor of a place (meaning you're a regular there, pretty much).

But lately, I've noticed something new in Foursquare. "Specials." They're coupons for people who "check in" to certain places. Ben and Jerry's offers a deal on scoops of ice cream. A bar in Hoboken offers a free plate of wings to the mayor.

Stuff like that.

I think indie booksellers could take advantage of this. Offer a discount. Ten percent off for the mayor. Or "buy one get one free" for a person who checks in. It's something that could gain the attention of young people. It would pull people who normally "check in" at Barnes and Noble to your bookstore instead. I know I'm more likely to check into a place that offers a special.

As for authors . . . how can we use this app? The same way indie booksellers can. As advertising. Check in to your local indie. Make sure people know you're still frequenting bookstores.

Help sell books.

It's just an idea.

What do you think?

PS: I checked out our very own Joelle Charbonneau's book signing at Partners and Crime in the city the other day.

I checked in.

So did a lot of other people.

Well, they showed up at lest.

Good luck to her--and Hilary Davidson--on their new releases!

1 comment:

Warren Paul Glover (WazMan) said...

Love the idea! When I work out how to operate my iPhone I'll check in to all the book places I can find - and theatres and art galleries and other cool places. Nice work!