Are you playing Foursquare?

Foursquare is quickly becoming a popular mobile social game. Usage of this location-based social application has grown over the last few months. Hitwise reports traffic to the site tripled since last November.

For those of you who may not be using Foursquare, here’s a quick overview. The idea is really simple. Users download the geo-location application to their phones and “check-in” whenever they go somewhere. The more someone checks-in, the more points they earn. In this social competition, users who visit a location more than anyone else can become “The Mayor.” Rewards are given and users unlock badges for trying new places.  Foursquare integrates with Facebook and Twitter so your fans can also see where you check-in.

Sounds pretty fun, right? But how does this help my business?

Well, there are few ways that businesses are using Foursquare to engage customers but let’s start with what Foursquare provides for businesses. Foursquare’s advertising platform is designed to provide businesses an opportunity to highlight special offers to Foursquare users who check-in locally. If I’m out grabbing a coffee at a local Starbucks and check-in to get my Foursquare points, I may get a special mayor offer from that Starbucks, or Foursquare may show me other special offers from nearby businesses. With Foursquare’s iPhone and mobile_web app, businesses that are offering specials to Foursquare users are featured and users can learn how to unlock special rewards when they check-in such as a freebie or a discount.

In return, businesses gain valuable data on offers redeemed, total check-ins, who’s visiting, how often, where users are frequenting, and where they go. Businesses who are trying Foursquare hope to use the data to create even more effective localized campaigns.

So how can Foursquare be used by your business?

There are a lot of creative ideas out there on how businesses can use Foursquare to engage their customers. Some of those ideas include:

• Encourage users to check-in and write reviews about your business: Friends will be able to see where others have been and read the reviews
• Have visitors show their phones at your location as a way to prove their frequent visits and then reward them as a result.
• Reward Mayors: Users that check-in the most at your location are rewarded with gift certificate, free beverage, etc.
• Get listed. Anyone can add a location. Be the first and get your business listed in Fourquare’s directory so your location shows up in results when users are nearby.
• Get Super users: Super users can edit venue information.
• Use the “Shout” feature to let users know about upcoming events at your location.