Is Foursquare for Your Business or Just for Fun?

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Recent buzz from sites like CNN and Wired proclaims foursquare is the next Twitter.  Not to be confused with a favorite childhood game, foursquare is an interactive game based on geo-location networking.  While it’s best experienced on a GPS-enabled phone, such as an iPhone or Android, you can also play the game through text messaging and the Internet.  A user earns points for checking in at a location, which includes anything from a home to a restaurant to landmarks and is rewarded with badges and titles such as “mayor” for frequently checking in. (For more information, check out Wikipedia.)

As a new way to stay in touch with your friends via the Web or mobile access, it’s sure to be something online influencers will embrace which can translate into a new tool for your business.

foursquare recently launched their API for developers to begin interfacing with the platform and has a list of how-to’s for businesses.  With these tools, a company can begin to interact with customers in a new and highly-targeted way by providing rewards the most frequent visitors with special titles, freebies or discounts.

Geo-social networks and games also provide opportunities for an organization to learn more about their customers and their habits – where they go, what they do, how much time they spend in different locations at what time of the day and their preferences.  Based on this information, an organization can advertise and promote to users or groups of users when information is most relevant to its public.

foursquare allows users to give “tips” on locations, including establishment or product reviews and insider hints providing consumer data quickly and accurately.  While foursquare users focus on earning as many points and badges as possible, business owners have a free user-driven information database.

While foursquare is currently a developing platform in 90 cities across the world, it is important to understand the function and possibilities in this tool.  Just imagine the interactive options and potential benefits to your organization and its online reputation.  

Want to know more about foursquare and how you can track your customers to market to them directly?