If your not on FourSquare your a square (not really)
If you or your business haven’t ventured into the world of So-Lo-Mo (social, local, mobile) your missing out or very soon will be.
If you don’t know the world is going mobile with Google & Facebook two of the biggest most used websites on the planet expect more traffic to come form mobile devices than normal laptop or desktop computers in a very short amount of time .
With this in mind let me introduce to you one of my favourite geo-local tools Foursquare.
If you ask anyone who knows me they will be able to tell you how often I check-in . You may think this is a little sad (my fiance would agree) but it is a great way of providing social media content especially if you visit your customers, trade shows or have a retail premises .
Foursquare and the other geo-local social networks should form part of your social media strategy so if you want to know more about this network feel free to get in touch I am always more than happy to talk social media
Foursquare – Where am I?
Where am I? Well, if you were using a location-based service like foursquare, Facebook Places, or Gowalla, you might already know the answer to that question.
Location-based services are popping up everywhere, and millions of people all over
the world are lining up to share his and her locations with the World Wide Web. Are you using any of these popular location-based services? Which one is your favorite?
I wanted to spend some time talking about my most used service Foursquare, the different features that it offers to the typical user.
The concept is simple. When you go out, check in. It’s as simple as that. Well, it’s a little more complicated. The point of foursquare is to check in when you go to locations, mainly businesses. So, for example, I go to the local coffee shop, say it’s a Starbucks . I get there, I check in telling all of my friends where I am.
With each check in you can add unique content. It is highly recommended that you add unique content with every check in. The main reason you want to add content is to add value to your audience. If you check in at Starbucks that does your friend list no good. But if you check in, are meeting a buddy from work for a meeting, tell us.
Foursquare allows you to link your check in to Twitter and Facebook which again gives you a reason to create content when you check in.
Let’s take a look at what the user sees when he or she goes for the check in. First, you will see an automatically populated list of locations nearby. Usually, if the location already exists, it will appear at the top (or near the top) of your list. Select the
location you wish to check in to. Here you will see the name of the location, the address, a large green “check in here” button, and further detailed information
about the actual location. You will be shown the mayor of said location (I will explain that in a moment), see a wide range of tips left by yourself and by other users, and even be able to access a map of the location, contact information, and more.
The more information includes the Twitter account of that location as well as Tweets nearby. This is a goof way to stay connected on Twitter in and around the places you frequent. The map, also located under more information, will show you your actual location using the GPS on your phone or other mobile device.
Each location on foursquare has a mayor. You see, foursquare is a game. There is a leader board and you get points for checking in and leaving tips. The more places you visit, the more points you have. We will take a look at the leader board here in a moment. But each location, assuming a mayor has met all of the requirements, has a mayor. There is really no benefit to the actual mayor, nothing more than bragging rights. To become the mayor of any one location, simply check in more than anyone else has at that location in the previous two months. You must have checked in at least twice over more than one day. This is reset every two months so while you might
be the mayor of Starbucks Coffee Company this month, you might not be next month.
When you click on the mayor of that location, you will see her or her picture, their last seen location, their total number of mayorships, their badges, their tips, and all of his or her friends on foursquare. There really is a lot of information within the service itself on these mobile devices.
After you have checked in, there are several other things you can do. You can add additional photos, each allowing you to add unique content to share with your audience what the image is of. You can add tips, which are a great way to share tips
and tricks with anyone and everyone that checks into that specific location in the future. You can even add a to-do if you have done something that you want to suggest others to partake in.
As you can se, there is a lot going on with foursquare. Although it is new to the market, some five million people have jumped on and started checking in everywhere they go.
Are you checking in on foursquare? See you there
