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FourSquare: What the Buzz is About?

If you’ve been using social networks for the past few years, you’ve seen how the buzz has shifted from MySpace to Facebook to Twitter and back to Facebook. These seemingly organic shifts between virtual worlds have probably left you wondering what might be next on the horizon. Well, many experts in the digital and social arenas have been keeping a close eye on Foursquare.

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What is Foursquare you ask? In short, it is a location-based social networking game designed for mobile users to compete with their friends socially in the real world. The Foursquare mobile application uses your phone’s GPS function to locate your whereabouts when you “check-in” through the app at different locations. When users check-in at their favorite restaurant or nightclub for example, their friends are notified and the user can earn points or unlock badges depending on when, where and how often they check in. When a user checks in to a specific location more than any other user, they are known as the Mayor of that location.

How could this change the face of social media marketing? Foursquare offers the unique opportunity for brands to track and reward visitors offline who frequent their real world venues. It’s like a customer using a frequent diner card at any location and letting all of their friends know that they were there. Advertisers now have the ability to attract their most loyal customers with incentives, knowing that their dedication to the brand will be published for all their friends to see.

Starbucks is one of the largest and most recent brands to partner with Foursquare. Back in March the coffee giant began experimenting with Foursquare as a customer loyalty tool. After a visitor has checked in 5 times at any Starbucks location, they can now unlock the “Barista Badge”. Social Media Blog Mashable.com writes, “With Starbucks on board, there’s no question that Foursquare has all the tools necessary to appeal to — and reach — a mainstream audience.” Advertisers like Starbucks have been dreaming of location-based advertising on mobile phones and it seems as though Foursquare is now providing such a platform.

Some might wonder how an application that tracks their whereabouts could ever become popular. It sounds too much like an invasion of privacy, right? It also sounds like you actually have to leave your home to participate (might be more difficult for the workaholics and family folks). In addition, you have to remember to check-in if you want to earn points or badges. That’s a legitimate concern for the growth potential of Foursquare but consider this; before MySpace, no one considered posting pictures of themselves online for everyone to see; and before Facebook no one considered posting their inner feelings in a status update; and before Twitter no one considered tweeting their every move throughout their…

To read more about FourSquare buzz, go to Sparxoo, a digital marketing, branding and business development blog.

About the Author

Sparxoo is a business blog that inspires breakthrough by tomorrow’s leaders. We are a strategy consulting firm with a pulse on marketing, branding, and development.

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