Teach Me How To Foursquare?

I consider myself to be pretty technologically savvy. I belong to one of the best public relations programs in the nation with super cool professors that encourage us to use the latest and greatest in technology and classmates that are quick to share when they find a super useful tool (this is where I insert my shameless plug for If This Then That, which I blogged about last week and am already in love with!). However, I ran across an app that to this day I have never tried while doing some reading today: Foursquare.

In chapter 11, David Meerman Scott discusses some ways to use Foursquare as a marketing and PR tool:

• Participate yourself by checking in and becoming the "mayor" of your establishment
• Cultivate evangelist by letting other people become mayor, which people tend to brag about, and give them special offers as a perk of being mayor
• Pitch special offers to people that pass your business by advertising that you have specials for Foursquare users only
• And finally, get fans' opinions by involving them in decisions

These all sounded like fantastic ideas to me. Unfortunately, I had no clue what he meant by any of it. The only contact I have had with Foursquare is the commercial from a couple of years ago where the guy says he's the mayor of the water cooler.

After a little bit of research, I discovered that Foursquare is a social tool that allows you to check in at places, leave tips for other people in the area, tailor your recommendations based on previous places you have visited and compete with others to earn points based on your check ins. A user can become the mayor by being the person to check in the most in a place in the last 60 days or compete to earn badges based on the amount or places you check in at. 

Making brand engagement a competition is a great way to make consumers more involved. While I don't see the point of using Foursquare in the metropolis of Ada, I would definitely use this in a larger city or on a vacation to find the best local options available.

Have you used Foursquare? What was your experience with it? Did you discover any great restaurants or venues through the app?

Scott, D. M. (2011). Real-time marketing & PR: how to instantly engage your market, connect with customers, and create products that grow your business now. Hoboken, N.J.: Wiley.