Affect highlights how the popular social network Foursquare can aid companies in achieving their business goals

NEW YORK--Affect Strategies: In conjunction with the international Foursquare Day , Affect Strategies, a public relations, marketing and social media firm specializing in technology and business-to-business, shares five ways in which businesses can use the burgeoning social network, Foursquare, to enhance their marketing efforts, generate leads and achieve business goals.

Foursquare is a location-based social networking platform that allows users to alert friends, in real-time, of their exact whereabouts using their mobile phone. The first official Foursquare Day will be recognized in more than 100 major cities across the world and encourages users to attend special Foursquare Day events at nearby participating locations. To celebrate this global social media holiday, Affect has highlighted five easy ways that businesses can use this valuable social networking tool to help their businesses increase brand awareness and drive demand for products and/or services to boost sales:

1. Create incentives for new customers - Even if you are not a restaurant or retail establishment, offering incentives using Foursquare can help to attract new customers to try your product or service. By offering a discount, free demo or complimentary tour to those who `check in' to your company location, businesses can raise awareness, increase customer traffic and capture new business leads.

2. Give special treatment to the Mayor - Businesses can easily take advantage of the Foursquare users' obsession to become the `Mayor' of their favorite locations. Foursquare users can become the Mayor by being the person that has checked in to the same location the most. By offering special discounts or limited time free services to their location's Mayor, businesses can encourage frequent visits to their establishment and encourage loyalty.

3. Offer promotions, contests and giveaways - One of the most effective ways to create a buzz around your brand on any platform is by offering free or discounted products or services through promotions, contests and giveaways. With Foursquare, implementing these marketing tactics becomes easy. Whether it's offering a discount to anyone who checks in to your location on a particular day or awarding the first person to check in a free product or service, Foursquare allows companies to attract and reward new and existing customers.

4. Maximize the success of events - Having a Foursquare check-in at your company events can help to make them more successful and effective. Operating around the users' locations, Foursquare is one of the few online networks that encourages offline engagement. Company sales and marketing teams can use this network to invite their online prospects to meet them face-to-face at a networking event or tradeshow. Additionally, a Foursquare check-in at an event allows attendees to connect in-person with other users that they follow online, providing an additional incentive to attend the event.

5. Marketing intelligence - Foursquare recently announced a free analytics tool and dashboard that gives businesses access to a plethora of information and statistics about the customers that visit their locations. This information, such as who has checked in and what time they arrived, can provide businesses with valuable insight into the effectiveness of their marketing efforts, allowing them to adjust their strategies accordingly.

By using Foursquare in these five simple ways, businesses can bridge the gap between online marketing and in-person engagement. The Foursquare phenomenon is only in its nascent stage and this social media platform is changing and will continue to change the way in which businesses market and promote their products and services.

About Affect Strategies

Affect Strategies is a public relations, strategic marketing and social media firm located in New York. Established in 2002, the company combines strategy, creative and intelligent program development, impeccable execution and exemplary customer service to help its clients achieve their specific business goals. Specializing in technology and communications, Affect Strategies has also applied its marketing prowess to consumer goods and professional services. As year-round public relations counsel, or a single project resource, Affect leverages its business acumen and service excellence to achieve the precise results that its clients seek. For more information, please visit www.affectstrategies.com or the company's blog, please visit www.techaffect.com.