Foursquare for Business Marketing

Created by a small group of developers, foursquare is a new smart phone-based application that takes elements from Twitter, Facebook, and other social media sites and adds GPS functionality.  Where these other social sites connect people digitally, foursquare seeks to connect people geographically.  Users of the program “check-in” when they arrive at a particular location.  This location could literally be anywhere.  Seriously, anywhere. Restaurants, gas stations, bowling alleys, pubs, homes, a pothole in the middle of Main Street, all are fair game in the world of foursquare.

Locations are generated by users.  When a foursquare user publishes a new location, it pops up on the foursquare system for all to see!  Points and “badges” (which are often hysterical) are awarded to users as they accomplish certain tasks:  creating a new location, visiting a certain location multiple times in one day, becoming “mayor” by visiting that location more than any other user, etc.  As people visit locations and “check-in” in real-time, they are allowed the opportunity to post tips and hints to other users in the area!  For example, if the chili-cheeseburger at So and So’s hamburger joint is a must have, a user could post that information as a tip.  Other users in the area would then see that the chili-cheeseburger is the bomb-dot-com and could then head on over to So and So’s to try it out!  foursquare is a unique, tech-savvy way to share your experiences with your friends about the places you’ve been!

Are you beginning to see where the local marketing value is lurking?  Foursquare for Businesses is a natural extension of the product that was released late year. The guys behind the app have built in a seamless addition to the game that will now call attention to venues offering special discounts to Foursquare users.  You can see most of those discounts on the foursquare website.

From the description of the business applications on the foursquare website:

“We’d be thrilled to have your bar / cafe / coffee shop / restaurant / store as part of our foursquare specials program. This can happen in a variety of ways, but essentially comes down to rewarding customer loyalty based on the data behind foursquare usage.  For example, foursquare can tell you how many times a customer has been to your venue or the frequency of their visits. Many venues are now using this data to reward their most loyal customers with freebies or discounts.  And you’d be surprised how effective a little friendly competition- over mayorship, over free fries! – can be at driving people back to your venue)”

It’s absolutely genius and here’s why. Say you’re out and about with friends. You check-in to get your points at the bowling alley and Foursquare shows you one of several possible deals: a special mayor offer for the location you’re at, a special mayor offer for a location nearby, or nearby check-in discounts. As is the case with Destination, a first time check-in will net you a free drink.  This is huge for businesses and hotspots located in close proximity.  If your establishment is within a quarter of a mile (or that’s what it seems like to us) then you pop up every time someone goes to check in.  If your friends have added Tips for any places close by they’ll display as “Since you’re close to Sonic, Devon Price says “Try the Buy One Get One Free Foot Long Chili Cheese Coney”.

On top of these benefits are built-in tracking features.  Visiting your venue page on foursquare.com you will be able to track all of the visitors who have visited your establishment, how many times they’ve checked in, who the current mayor is, tips, and other cool features.

There is already a strong following of foursquare (@foursquare on twitter), so much so that they’ve been having a difficult time of late keeping up with the volume of check ins. Why not do your own little research on the application and see how it can improve your engagement with your customers.  I’d love to hear back via comments!