Tag Archive: foursquare

5 Apps I Use for Cause Marketing

Written on February 10, 2010 in Cause Tools
5 Comments

I’m frequently asked what apps I use to stay abreast of the latest news on cause marketing, how I add my two cents and find the occasional prospect. My list is actually a lot shorter than you might think.

Tweetdeck. Twitter is my main source of information on just about everything, including cause marketing. Just 18 months ago I read a slew of magazines and three newspapers a day. My inbox was peppered with daily keyword alerts from Google and marketing newsletters. Today, I only use Twitter. And on my desktop to manage the influx of info is Tweetdeck.

When I come across a tweet with a link I want to read later, I no longer save it to Delicious. I just favorite it in Tweetdeck. If I want to save it longer, I ship it off to Evernote.

Tweetdeck is great because Twitter search, Facebook and Linkedin can now all be viewed on one magnificent screen. Having access to Linkedin has been particularly helpful as I can see with whom my fellow cause marketers are connecting (thanks for all the great leads @davecause!). Sometimes they’re people to learn from; other times prospects for business. Tweetdeck helps me manage both.

Tweetie. Tweetie is my iPhone app for Twitter. Minus the integration with other social media sites, it keeps me well connected with cause marketing news and with my followers. When I’m just tweeting, I almost prefer it to Tweetdeck.

PicPosterous. PicPosterous is the app I use to export pictures to my Posterous blog. But I use it even more now because Posterous is my default image service on Tweetie. So right from my iPhone I can snap a picture of a cause marketing program and use PicPosterous to instantly post the image on Posterous and instantly ping Twitter, Facebook Delicious, etc. In short, it’s been a great way to share cause marketing pictures on-the-go .

Evernote. Check out my post Better Cause marketing with Evernote.

Foursquare. The location-based service is more than just something I use to check-in to Starbucks twice day. It’s become a central conversation point for my talks with current and prospective partners on what shape the transactional cause marketing I do will take in the years ahead. I spend a good deal of time explaining to partners the potential of location-based services like Foursquare to cause marketing partnerships.

Tweetdeck, Tweetie, PicPosterous and Evernote keep me on track with my daily cause marketing activities. But Foursquare is my crystal ball. And I see a lot of check-ins with Foursquare in my future.

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AFP Presentation: Cause Marketing for Nonprofits

Written on February 5, 2010 in Cause Marketer's Journal, Cause Marketing 101, Cause Practices
2 Comments

Thanks to everyone who came out to the Association of Fundraising Professionals Brown Bag today to hear me, Joanna MacDonald and Dan Curtin, General Manager of Zipcar Boston, talk about cause marketing.

As promised, here are my slides from the presentation (at least the most relevant ones). I’ve linked them to several posts that might be helpful to you.

What is Cause Marketing? Read my post of the same name, and be sure to check out the comments.

Point-of-Sale. You can read about several great examples of pinup programs that support Komen, Jake’s Ride and BMC. Not familiar with pinup programs? Here’s a primer.

Percentage-of-Sale. Check out this post I wrote on Absolut Boston and the Charles River Conservancy.

Sponsorships. As I explained today, cause marketing isn’t sponsorship, but I know selling sponsorships are still a big part of what nonprofits do. That’s why I’ve written a whole series on it called Selling Local Sponsorships for Nonprofits.

iParty and Ocean State Job Lots. You heard a lot about iParty and Ocean State today. These links share some more background about them and our partnerships with them.

Zipcar. As you heard today, this car-sharing company has been a good friend of the hospital. Here are some more details about the email pinup they did for us.

Foursquare. I’ve written three posts on Foursquare and one on CauseWorld. You should also read this AdAge article on Foursquare, which highlights how businesses are using the service. Consider the possible extensions to cause marketing.

Cause Marketing Forum. Their annual conference shouldn’t be missed! You can also follow CMF’s founder on Twitter. Visit CMF for loads of case studies on cause marketing and info on the conference.

The future is free. I talked about this in my “prophecies” for cause marketing. Read about it here.

Hire us. BMC is always looking for new nonprofit and for-profit partners. You can learn more about the different ways we can work together here.

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Harvard Schools Cause Marketers on Foursquare

Written on January 19, 2010 in Capplause, Cause Practices
6 Comments

I didn’t go to Harvard University (or “Hahvahd” as we call it locally), but last week I got a a Harvard education on Foursquare.

Foursquare, which is accessible from smartphones and other mobile devices, enables students and visitors to explore the campus and surrounding neighborhoods while sharing information about their favorite places.

In addition to creating an up-to-date online rating guide of stores, restaurants, businesses, and other venues throughout Harvard Square, foursquare users can also employ the application as a game, in which they earn points, and ultimately acquire coveted foursquare “badges.” Harvard is the first university to use foursquare to help students explore their campus and surrounding places of interest. Users who have visited a predetermined number of sites on the campus will be awarded the Harvard Yard badge on their foursquare profiles.

Harvard has led the way in a lot of areas, now it’s leading in how cause marketers can use Foursquare. Here’s how I plan to make good use of my education.

  • My hospital is located in Boston’s historic South End, which is chock full of stores, restaurants, shops and others spots worthy of Foursquare check-in.
  • After visiting a predetermined number of sites in the South End Foursquare users will unlock a South End badge on their profile.

Here’s what’s different.

  • I plan to recruit a corporate sponsor for my badge. A biz in or around the South End would be great – b.good, Hampton Inn and Target come to mind.
  • When users unlock their South End badge they would get a message: Congratulations! You just unlocked the South End Badge! Target [for example] has made a donation on your behalf to the Preventive Food Pantry at Boston Medical Center.

The program could incorporate additional elements, some of which I’ve discussed in other posts. Target could host a pinup program to promote their involvement and raise more money. South End stores could offer shoppers a reward when they unlock their badge.

All I need now to make my dream a reality is for someone to create my badge and work with Foursquare to set things up. That’s where I could use some help. Foursquare worked with Harvard to create their badge. I’d like them to do the same for me. How ’bout it Dens?

The great thing about my badge is that it holds the promise of revenue. If Foursquare can get causes coming up with creative ways to get businesses to sponsor badges, it’s a great step in the right direction for their business model.

Harvard is a great place to get an education. But if Foursquare is ready to graduate and make some money, they might want to try cause marketing.

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