FourSquare Blog

Tony Thomas asked:




In the land of social media, foursquare is taking its place among the Facebooks and Twitters of the world. A cross between a mobile social network, city-finder, friend-finder and game, the business aspect of foursquare is where the true magic (and profit!) begins.

Foursquare is a mobile app for smart phones, including the Android, iPhone, BlackBerry, and Palm Pre that encourages people to explore their city and then rewards them for doing so. Each time a person goes to a coffee shop, hotel, park, etc, anywhere in the world, they “check in” via their phone. When they do, they receive points for it: certain points for a check-in, more for a first time visit, etc. Foursquare is still working on how users can benefit from points.

Users can also collect Badges, which are many and ever growing. Some businesses such as Starbucks have even created their own Badges. Badges are gained for such things as checking-in to the same venue 4+ times in a day or in a week, for hitting up some place at 3am on a school night, for 50+ check-ins at a single place at the same time, and on and on. There’s quite a lengthy list of these Badges to unlock.

If you happen to be the lucky person that check-ins somewhere more than anyone else has, you are awarded the designation of Mayor. At that point, other people are going to attempt to dethrone you.

People can also be-friend other people in their area, leave tips for other visitors to an establishment, and let the foursquare app send out Tweets to Twitter when they visit, letting the world know of their exploits. It’s all very clever.

So, how exactly does a local business cash in on all this? They set themselves up on the foursquare web site, claiming their sweet piece of real estate, adding information, photos, a map and more. They monitor people as they check-in to their place of business and offer rewards to those who do, in the way of extras, freebies or discounts. People who become Major may receive a larger prize (rather than just an extra shot in their coffee, maybe a free sandwich). As people play the game and network with one another, this in turn, generates buzz, exposure and added revenue for the business.

AJ Bombers, a local burger joint in Milwaukie, WI, knows the powers of social media in general and foursquare specifically. Watch the video of one of their recent events as they attempt to provide their customers and customers-to-be with the coveted foursquare Swam Badge. The ways they are using it, both online and offline, are very creative and quite inspirational.

foursquare, recently adding 100,000 users in 10 days, is quickly becoming a social media phenomenon and local businesses need to jump on board. Not doing so is simply leaving money on the table, if not placing it into the pocket of your competitor.

Just a quick, additional note that other networks such as Yelp and Gowalla are following in the footsteps of foursquare, benefiting both users and local business alike.

Ever considered day trading ?