Foursquare is one of the latest players in the social media market, quickly catching a following of over 6.5 million. The mobile-based program has been marketed as a game. It leverages itself as a social networking platform using “check-in” to local venues to gain loyalty points. The more points the users have, the more rewards they get in the form of entitlement, free merchandise or great discounts. For users it is nothing but fabulous, but what potential does it have for companies?
Foursquare (Image provided by Foursquare under the creative commons license)
By registering in the foursquare database, your company is listed among many other similar sites, is readily searchable, and puts the company in visible proximity to competitors – i.e. offer a great deal that overrides your competition and you’ll likely attract more users.
Unfortunately for companies, there is no clear way to measure that foursquare is actually increasing your business. In a recent survey conducted, only 10% of businesses said they would actually pay for Foursquare in the future – when the social media platform hopes to monetize their services.
Social media may give you a wider reach – but it hasn’t replaced classic marketing techniques.
Once again, this new development proves my point to the nth degree that social media can’t outweigh classic marketing when it comes to spot-on targeting and marketing potential.