If you’re somewhat invested in the social media marketing world, you’ve probably asked this question at least once before. If you’re a foodie or a travelphile, you probably already know. So, let’s get down to it: what the heck is Foursquare?

How Foursquare Works

I talked about this a little bit in my rundown of little-used social media websites, but really it’s more mobile app than networking site – though that doesn’t make it less socially valuable.

Foursquare is basically a way to connect a mobile user to the local businesses around her. It works like you probably imagine: you’re in Las Vegas and you’ve got a hankerin’ for something special, so you open the app (or log in) and enter that you’re looking for “chicken and waffles” in Las Vegas. And voila, Hash House A Go Go comes right up.

But it does a little more than that, too. It also allows you to save and share places, and even offers you recommendations – and you want to be the business being shared and recommended.

A Mobile App That Matters

If you’re wondering what makes this so special, maybe you should consider that Microsoft purchased Foursquare for $15 million. I’d say it matters.

According to the Foursquare website, the FS community spans over 45 million people, accounting for literally billions of social check-ins for their 1.6 million businesses. Do any of those belong to you?

Location matters more than ever for Google SEO, so you can’t afford to miss OuT on opportunities like Foursquare, even if you’ve never really heard of it before. Make sure your local business’s profile is up to speed on it, and then add the sharing icon to your website and promote it to your visitors.

Try even putting on check-in campaigns, like offering 10% discounts or other special offers for people who check in. It’s well worth it if that results not only in business and a check-in, but for the potential at snagging a new repeat customer who wouldn’t have given you the time of day without a special offer.

Foursquare makes all this really easy, so just peruse their website and make sure you’re optimizing your local efforts. Seriously! Get on it today!

Have some Foursquare tips? Let me know in the comments!