There’s a trend growing, that’s been hot for a while now, and it’s got over 8 million people of all ages going out of their way to share their favorite business locations with their friends using iPhone or Android smart devices. That’s more than the population of Switzerland and of that 8 million, over a million joined in the last 12 months? The stunning growth of Foursquare likely means that this is a social medium for you and your business.

What is Foursquare?

By definition it is a location-based social media marketing application that helps you promote your business. In practice it amounts to something much more.

Foursquare is hands down the most prolific location-based app available. Excluding only Facebook Places, it has the largest user base of all location-based social media marketing apps and it’s numbers continue to climb steadily each month. As iPhone and Android smartdevices continue to penetrate the American market (around 30% of US consumers have a smartdevices) it can only result in more Foursquare users. In short, there is no better time to think about joining Foursquare.

Why and how to get set up with Foursquare?

Foursquare’s rise in popularity over the past year has brought about a change in how businesses and brands to use the popular check in service to promote themselves. As Foursquare crests 8 million worldwide users, it has become more and more valuable for brick and mortar businesses to verify their business with the service and offer incentives to get more people in the door.

First thing’s first: Verify your business

Claim your spot in the world of Foursquare by verifying your business. Doing this will allow you to promote specials to Foursquare users and view the demographics of people who check in. Here’s how it works:

• Create a Foursquare account. Click here to get started.
• After creating your account, search for your business in the search bar at the top of your screen. Chances are someone has created the location on Foursquare by now, but if you can’t find your business then you’ll need to click “Add a new venue to Foursquare” at the bottom of the page and fill out the requested information. Once you have done that, your venue page will appear.
• Click the “Claim Venue” link (pictured) to start the verification process. You’ll have to provide your business’s email address and phone number so Foursquare can call and verify. If you verify by phone, Foursquare will call you and give you a PIN that you simply enter on the site. If you verify by mail, the PIN will be sent via postcard.

How do you use Foursquare?

According to John Coe in The Fundamentals of Business To Business Sales and Marketing, “68% of long-term customers stop buying because they just don’t feel loved.” What if you had a simple and easy to manage rewards program that was powered by Foursquare? What if a customer received 10% off every fifth visit? Foursquare makes it easy to keep track of visits and reward your more loyal patrons with mobile coupons, prizes, discounts, or other bonuses.

Here’s how it works:

• After Foursquare gets in touch with you and verifies your business, you have the option to use the Merchant Platform to set up a special for your venue. This can be as simple as offering a free drink to anyone who checks in, to offering discounts after someone checks in a certain number of times. Click here and click on “Foresquare Specials” to see the special options Foursquare offers.
• When a Foursquare user is nearby, the system will mark your business with a “Special” marker to let them know you have an offer. Foursquare also offers free stickers for your shop’s window to let passersby know you have a special.
• Once a customer qualifies for a special, an “unlock” screen will show up on their smartphone. Train your employees to recognize this so they can give the customer his reward.

Remember Foursquare Specials encourage visits to your business!

Get to know your customers by tracking who checks in!

When it comes to analytics, Foursquare makes it easy to find your male to female ratio, who your regular customers are, the time of day you get the most check-ins, and how your customers checking in compares to the customers who are signed up for your loyalty program. You can also see which customers are sharing their check ins on Facebook or Twitter and spreading the word to their friends and followers.

If used correctly, it can yield lots of useful data. For example if men dominate your location, you can change your marketing to appeal to more women. To view the stats, simply visit your venue’s page after you have verified it with Foursquare.

It is clear that Foursquare has a role for just about every business and best of all . . . its free! Go claim your business and get your customers started lining up!