When you think of foursquare, the first thing that might come to mind is a game you played at recess when you were in elementary school. Well, times are changing, and the next time you hear someone talking about foursquare, they’re probably talking about the ever-growing location-based social media tool.
How it works for users:
Foursquare is a social media tool that allows people to post their location from GPS based smart phones, or via text from a regular cell phone. This is called “checking in,” and the more you check in, the more “rewards” you can earn. There are two different types of rewards: badges and mayor-ships.
There are many different ways you can earn a badge on foursquare, but it will always involve checking in. One example of this is the “explorer” badge, which you earn after checking into 25 different locations. Foursquare also has badges that are location and event specific. Recently, they teamed up with SXSW (South by Southwest), a 9 day music, film, and interactive event in Austin, TX to create a cornucopia of badges a user could earn while “exploring” the event. To earn mayor-ship of a location, you must have the most check-ins at a specific location in the past 60 days. Once you’ve achieved this, you become the undisputed mayor of that location…that is, until someone else frequents that venue more than you and steals the crown.
How it works for businesses:
Foursquare is a great way to get people to visit your business, post about their experience, and create an interactive community. Foursquare works well for places like restaurants, coffee shops, retail stores, bars/clubs, gyms, hair salons, and other venues that people visit regularly.
