How Foursquare Makes Use Of Geomarketing To It's Advantage

Foursquare recently just attained the million user benchmark

. While that might not be much when compared with the hundreds of millions of people using Social Media heavy hitters like Twitter and Facebook, it's still a respectable number for a web start-up company to obtain. So, how is it getting this big? For now, the incentives to using Foursquare are pretty slim, just insignificant "badges" really, but enough big companies looking for the next big thing have started to pin their hopes on this little start-up, and it seems like theres some pretty cool deals coming down the pipe. Heres a few of the more interesting ones:Bravo Television helps fans cyber stalk their favourite shows:

Cable television network Bravo has begun using Foursquare to help point its viewers to more than 500 locations associated with the network's shows. The incentives offered aren't great for now, just more badges, but Bravo is promising that there will be sweepstakes and awards coming in the future.The Wall Street Journal Uses Foursquare To Distribute Exclusive News:

The Wall Street Journal recently launched a new metro section solely for New York, and is using Foursquare to help promote it. In addition to offering the normal badges for checking in to certain locations, the Journal is using Foursquare as a distributor for some of its exclusive NYC-related news.Zagat Makes Its Reviews More Accessible:

Before you 'check in' to an eatery on Foursquare, users will soon be able to view the relevant Zagat reviews, as well as share their own impressions to other Foursquare users. Of course, there's also an obligatory 'Foodie' badge involved that is earned when a Foursquare user checks into a Zagat-rated restaurant.MTV Also Helps Fans Stalk their Favourites:

In a truly horrifying turn of events, MTV wants their (and VH1) viewers to be able to track the moves of their favourite reality TV stars. As if Reality TV wasnt obnoxious enough, "personalities" from shows such as Jersey Shore, The Hills, The City and Real World: New Orleans will be given their own 'celebrity mode' Foursquare accounts that will be publicly accessible to anyone who wants to know what they're up to. You know, beyond what is shown in the television shows constantly chronicling their lives.Starbucks:

Starbucks was, and is one of the first truly giant companies to dive head first into social media, so it's not really shocking that it has a strategy going on Foursquare. Coffee Lovers can get their Foursquare 'Baristas Badge' by checking in on Foursquare from five different Starbucks coffee shops. Starbucks is also currently considering ways to reward customers who check-in frequently, which really shouldn't be much of a question mark for them at all. Free coffee anyone? Why are all these major companies flocking to Foursquare? Personally, I think its because Foursquare was designed almost exclusively for GeoMarketing. Sure, you can use it to see what your friends favourite places to eat are, but that in itself is a great marketing tool. As long as Foursquare keeps away from the privacy pitfalls that are currently being encountered by Facebook, it should continue to grow. After all, there's no real downside to using Foursquare to promote your own activities and, while there isn't too much of an upside right now, there looks to be some pretty cool deals coming through it for the future.

by: Jonathan Meier

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