In our last post, we talked about utilizing QR codes to create a self-guided campus tour. Not ready to make that leap into the QR realm? Here is a stopgap measure that might be a less expensive and more immediate way to turn any visitor carrying a smartphone into his/her own tour guide!

Many social media outlets now incorporate geo-tagging into their applications. Don’t let the term sound fancier than it is. Geo-tagging is the ability to use a smartphone’s GPS feature to help attach the user’s location to a post on a social networking site such as Facebook or Twitter.

This is a perfect new tool for your enrollment marketing toolbox.  There is one popular geo-tagging app that is encouraging businesses to utilize it for the purpose of promoting their locations or products: Foursquare. This is the app we will focus on for the purpose of creating a social media-driven campus tour.

The Set-up:

1. Log onto Foursquare and claim your campus. Chances are there are multiple entries out there already. The one you claim will be the one you can edit and access analytics about.
2. Take it beyond macro. Claim every building on campus. This may not be ideal for a vertical urban campus, but should be relatively easy for any campus with multiple buildings spread slightly apart.
3. Create content for each location you’ve claimed. This is not your college website. Foursquare is a social media and geo-tag driven game. Remember to keep the content light. You can add links to drive students to your own website to add depth.
4. Encourage your tour guides to use it immediately. Your tour guides or ambassadors are current students with credibility in the eyes of prospects. Encourage them to check-in often and to post honest, yet positive thoughts on their experiences in each building.
5. Assign someone to monitor the comments on the locations. Foursquare can be a conversation generator. You want to know what’s being said about the different locations. This can be done by an Admission Counselor, a student intern, a tour guide, etc.

The Advantages:

1. It’s free. At the moment, Foursquare is not charging businesses for the ability to claim their venue, edit the content there or access web analytics.
2. It’s easy. Almost anyone can get the ball rolling, you don’t necessarily need someone from IT. As a matter of fact, this might be a great project for your new hires or your new tour guides. Have them do some research on each building and then put together your brief copy for each venue. They will get more familiar with campus as they put together their first big project for you!
3. It’s fun. Foursquare is a game. Users are encouraged to check-in often, comment, etc.
4. It’s social. Foursquare ties into social media sites such as Twitter and Facebook. By checking in on your campus, not only are your visitors learning more about you, they are telling all of their friends about it simultaneously! This takes word-of-mouth to a whole new level.

Engaging someone in conversation doesn’t mean walking up to them and shaking their hand anymore. Conversations occur when you are not even there. If you are not ready to engage visitors to your campus at any moment, you risk losing potential students.

Mark Twain once said, “I was seldom able to see an opportunity until it had ceased to be one.” Self-guided tours of your campus powered by either QR technology, Foursquare or both can help ensure that you never miss the opportunity to engage a campus visitor again.

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