Before we even begin to examine methods of how to get people to check into your Facebook page, I firstly think it’s important for users to understand why they should be encouraging Facebook ‘check ins’.
Facebook check in acts like a digital word of mouth. When people see their friends ‘checking in’ to different places, they don’t only see where they are physically going but they also see the brands and products that they are choosing. By ‘checking in’ at a certain store a user is essentially advocating that brand. When a user notices this behaviour from a friend, colleague or family member it is muchlikely to have a tangible impact than other sponsored posts or banner adverts, no matter how well targeted.
Another aspect of ‘check ins’ to consider is how with the emergence of Facebook’s Graph Search, users will now be searching based on their own interests and on their friend’s recommendations. A ‘check in’ is an easy way to reach hundreds or thousands with minimal effort as it’s understood that the more a user has checked into your establishment, the more likely it becomes that their friends will find you and trust their recommendation.Now that we understand the importance of ‘check ins’, how do we get people to start doing it?
Discounts:
Probably the most common way of encouraging someone to do something is to give him or her a product for free, or at least part of it. To boost the number of Facebook check ins, a number of different discount tactics could be used such as offering a customer 20% off their purchases when they have checked in to your business. Another way to spread word about your business rapidly and increase sales is to offer group discounts; this is particularly useful in restaurants and bars where groups of consumers are more common. Finally another type of discount that can be offered to customers is a loyalty discount, for example, once a customer has checked into your business 5 times, they become eligible for a special discount. As well as simply promoting your business or company, this tactic effectively encourages customer loyalty using Facebook ‘check ins’.
Visual Cues:
The only reason a lot of customers these days do not ‘check in’ to business is because it is not something they are used to doing or somewhere they have been before, perhaps all they need is a gentle reminder? This is where a visual cue might prove useful; with high levels of smartphone usage amongst consumers these days, a majority of customers will have the capability to ‘check in’ once you have politely asked them to do so, and in some cases, free Wi-Fi becomes a perk in doing so. And for those who don’t, why not consider a conveniently placed tablet computer that customers can use to check in to your store and to ‘like’ your businesses’ Facebook page? This could be successful for the novelty factor alone and combined with the discounts previously mentioned it could become an important tool in company promotion.
Word of Mouth:
Finally, the most simple way for you to increase the amount of ‘check ins’ is to simply encourage employees, friends, family, anyone and everyone that you know to ‘check in’ to your store every time they come to visit, and maybe even when they don’t!
These tips are just a few simply but effective ways to promote your company or business online through the growing consumer platform of social media.
