In previous posts I have talked about tips on what to post and how to maximize your hospital presence on Foursquare.
Now I want to focus on the other major location based service – Gowalla.
- Claim all your local spots (h/t – Bobby Rettew for figuring this out) –
- Start by signing up for a hospital specific Gowalla account. This will come in handy later. Do not claim spots on your personal account.
- Email local@gowalla.com with all the URLs of spots you want to claim. In you email note the “offical” Gowalla hosptial branded account you would like them tied to. (Gowalla was great to work with. I had all spots claimed within 24hrs of my first email to them.)
- Update all your information – Once you have all your claimed spots sign into Gowalla with your “official” account and navigate to any of your managed spots.
- Click on the gear next to the spot’s name and choose edit.
- Be sure to fill in all relevant information including the spots Foursquare venue ID, Twitter account, Yelp url, etc…
- Add a check-in message – One specific part of each spot’s information should be a custom check-in message. One on the edit screen of any spot you will see an option to add a check-in message. This is a great way for the brand to connect.
- Ask other networks to connect – be sure to let everyone know on other networks like Facebook and your blog that they can find you on Gowalla and to be sure and “check-in” next time they are in your hospital.
- Buy a stamp – If you are really ambitious purchase a custom stamp for your location. Use the same email (local@gowalla.com) to request additional information. This will allow your hosptial to stand out on the mobile app for a small investment.
Bonus: be sure to regularly monitor both Foursquare and Gowalla to pick up on trends within your hospital.
Anyone else been down this path and have additional tips to share?
– Reed
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