A Perspective on Foursquare

Although my career at Adworkshop is dedicated to marketing, I was not overly-excited to hear about another new social media application; "Foursquare". My first impression of this "app" was that it appeared to be an urban version of Facebook's Farmville (in which I also do not participate). My initial reaction was "why do I want to stop what I'm doing to inform the entire world of what I'm doing? I could miss a beautiful sunset because I'm letting the world know I'm watching one from (name your favorite location)!" ... But then I put on my marketing hat and realized that Foursquare can be a GREAT mobile advertising tool in any industry, but specially so in the tourism industry if you "claim" your business and manage it properly.

For those that don't know about Foursquare, Wikipedia states "Foursquare is a web and mobile application that allows registered users to connect with friends and update their location. Points are awarded for 'checking in' at venues. Users can choose to have their check-ins posted on their accounts on Twitter, Facebook or both." When you "check in" enough times at a location, you can be declared Mayor of that venue. And if you choose to update your Twitter or Facebook accounts, all your connections/followers are informed of your new status. That's FREE advertising for your business!

Businesses can make it even more enticing by rewarding Foursquare users for checking in – the application has a program that allows organizations to give discounts or prizes for Foursquare customers that show they've checked IN during the check OUT process. This application even has FREE venue analytics to track how your business performs over time. And, the folks at Foursquare will help businesses promote themselves by sending window decals - also known as Foursquare Clings - to post in visible areas.

This is just another example of how social media is gaining momentum in the marketing communications industry at a break-neck pace. As a business utilizing Foursquare, you have to do a little work to maintain the integrity of your venue and manage your name carefully. After all, anyone can add a venue if they don't see it in their initial search result. Simply add your business, categorize it, and, most importantly, claim it. Users can post tips and recommend your business or venue to other users as well.

There is always something to learn in social media, and I'm still not sure what the points and badges you receive for 'checking in' translate into, but 1.3 million users obviously think it's a great way to inform their friends of where they are, which could be great news for your business.