7 Foursquare Tips

Updated for 2014

Ok, so by now you have probably heard about location based social media services like Foursquare. If you haven’t here’s a quick summary. Foursquare is a social media website and more importantly a mobile app you can download to your iPhone or Android smart phone. Once you have the Foursquare app installed, you are presented with options like friends, places, etc.

foursquare

Cool Stickers

If you sign up as a business on Foursquare. They send you one of these cool stickers for your front window:

foursquare-checkin

To make the most of Foursquare, you must truly be active with checkins, tips/comments and “hearts”. Leaving tips for your friends is a great way to interact with your followers. When they visit Joe’s Pizza Shop and checkin, they will see the feedback you left for them last time you were there. “Bro, don’t order the anchovies!”

Foursquare Tips

Here are some tips when getting started with Foursquare:

  1. Connect with Friends: Connect with your friends on Facebook, Twitter and email (Gmail, Yahoo). This is built into the Foursquare website which makes it really easy to find your friends and connect.
  2. Check in: Search for locations in your area, and when you find where you are, check in (or add your location if not available). Checking in is what Foursquare is all about. Essentially you are competing with your friends and strangers to become “mayor” of a particular location. You can be mayor of many different locations but work places and your home are generally frowned upon in the community, just an FYI.
  3. Deals: Look for deals. Some locations will offer a deal to anyone who is “mayor” of their location.
  4. Badges: We don’t need no stinking badges! (yes, we do) Badges are like feathers in your cap or actual cub scout merit badges (or brownie badges), which ever you prefer.
  5. Apps: There are tons of apps. Lots of cool apps out there that connect to Twitter, Facebook and more.
  6. Business owners: If you own a business, check to see if your location is on Foursquare. If it isn’t, create a complete profile for your company. If it is, make sure there are no incomplete or duplicate listings. You can report a duplicate listing if you find one. The more times people check in to your location, the more likely your brand (and location) is going to spread through social networks. Friends will see where their friends are eating, shopping and spending their free time. They can comment on their experience, good or bad by leaving tips. It’s a great way to take advantage of word-of-mouth (WOM) advertising. If you are looking to expand your advertising reach, check out Foursquare Ads where you pay every time someone takes an action on your ad (pay per action).
  7. Have fun and connect with me on Foursquare!