Social Media marketing drives club interest

Brad:
I've just started doing this with Foursquare as well. Is anyone commenting on your check-ins someone you don't know? I ask because Foursquare check-ins themselves are only seen by friends; photos are viewable by anyone but your check-in comment isn't associated. Have you tried leaving a tip at a venue?
:Penelope

On FourSquare, I am rather aggressive at friending most everyone. I always friend the mayor and everyone who leaves a tip at a venue I am checking in at. I also make a point to frequently leave a comment and/or a photo with each checkin. I am often surprised how often someone adds a comment.

Foursquare recently changed their interface. They are trying to open up the communication threads with others. I have not checked out all the details though.

For club membership interest I've had the most luck with Google plus when the post is geo tagged. Several online contacts and a few IRL club visits. I've been a bit inconsistent with it though.

Our club FB presence was setup by someone else. They have it locked down to not just members, but invited members only. I'm working on changing these settings. I know some clubs have had good results with FB.

I took about an hour to friend as many in my city with 50+ friends. Once those accepted i checked their profiles and did the same with their friends lists. I now how over 90 friends since 3 days ago so it's pretty easy to get your numbers up.

Then the night before and morning of our noon meeting I Liked as many check-in/tips, etc from near our location as I could find. I got one person locally that saved my comment. It's only one but it's a start. This should be used as part of an overall strategy anyway, not a single, lone approach.

Next week I'll have 2 other members do the same. That way when we check-in/update our status the chances of getting Liked/commented on are increased.

I'll let everyone know how that goes.
Anthony

Do you use your Foursquare account for check-ins other than Toastmasters meetings? I find it a little unsettling to think of people I don't know seeing everywhere I am. Just doesn't seem very safe. I'm interested in others' views though. And do you think there is another way to get the word out via Foursquare (aside from tweeting your check-in)?

Yes, I plan to use it for other check-ins

That's a legitimate concern. I asked everyone in the club to use the app only if they're comfortable with location based apps.

I made it clear that location based tells the world where you are. The two other members usingFoursquare are ok with that.

You could use the Google+ app if your club has a G+ setup. You can 'check-in' as your club local page vs a single person. Like Brad's example above.

Otherwise, Foursquare is all location based.

Anthony

You could create a FourSquare account under your Toastmasters Club name but not sure how much interest that would bring. Would people likely friend someone knowing they will routinely pitch a product/service?

You can create a page on FourSquare but need to link it to a Twitter account.
Here is info specific to non-profits
foursquare.com/business/brands/usecases/nonprofits