W3 Design Studio

Location based social site foursquare has been making a splash in recent times since it came into the market in 2009. The company grew at a rate of 3400% in 2010 proving that there was a clear need for this type of social business. With over 10,000,000 members globally and 381,000,000 + check ins in 2010 alone, foursquare is a serious marketing tool for business when used to its potential.

Businesses are only just coming to terms with the power of the medium. One of the best features is the ability of a retailer to offer a ‘special’ so that people in the local area can redeem it by attending the store. Finding local businesses is easy using the free software which is now available for all smart phones.

Some of the largest companies in the world have jumped on the foursquare bandwagon to great effect. These include Pepsi, Walgreens, ESPN and Redbox – admittedly these are are all US based but believe me when I say that when Australian business wakes up to the power of foursquare it will be a smash hit here.

Retailers need to include foursquare in their arsenal of weapons to connect with consumers in the digital age. As with any technology driven medium, those that take the time to learn and then jump in early will reap the benefits whilst the competition is wondering what just happened.