In recent months we’ve seen a sudden surge in growth and development going on in the social media world with new products like Google + and Facebook’s latest feature, group and video chat. Well, I think it is still worth talking about Foursquare and the exciting wave that they’ve been surfing.
This New York City start-up has seriously kicked it up a notch in 2011. This spring it all began with NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg proclaiming April 16th the official “Foursquare Day.” That is pretty incredible considering that there isn’t even a “Facebook Day” or a “Google Day.” It also serves as a big boost for the NYC entrepreneurial spirit and innovation creation. With Foursquare leading the way, we may see a renewed startup buzz in NYC.
Just a few weeks ago, Foursquare rocked its largest milestone yet, with a whopping 10 million users, and just this past Wednesday, they hit 500,000 business users. Not bad for a 2 year old company led by hip youngsters Dennis Crowley, 33, and Naveen Selvandurai, 28.
Creating valuable partnerships
Everybody wants a deal, right? Well Foursquare and American Express recently partnered up so you can have great deals available to you whenever you want.
Here’s how it works. All you need is a Foursquare account and an Amex account which you link together, you can do this here. You then check into a store, hit ‘load to card’ on the special provided and then pay with your Amex account. These promotions are happening in stores like H&M, where you can spend $75 and get $10 back, and at Sports Authority where you can spend $50 and get $20 back. Now that’s a good deal!
There are a slew of other types of businesses that have already taken up this creative marketing strategy. There are restaurants that are offering buy-one-get-one deals for 1st time check-ins. There is even a restaurant, Moby Dick House of Kabob, that is offering the Foursquare mayor of their restaurant a free trip for 5! The coolest thing about this whole Foursquare sensation is the fact that businesses are gaining more customers and patrons are getting stellar deals all by simply checking in to where they are.
Money well spent
This fast growing company just raised $50 million and contributed a chunk of that to give their notification system a new face-lift. The system isn’t fixated on alerting users about their friends’ check-ins, instead the notifications are focused on all the other activity that is occurring on Foursquare, the comments, the To-Dos and mayorship changes. It will also let you know when your Facebook friends join Foursquare, which is pretty cool too.
I think the neatest thing about Foursquare is that they are doing their best to be their own brand and in my eyes that is really important. They are not trying compete directly with other companies, their just following the open road they have created for themselves. Kudos to the young company and to the young studs running the Foursquare show. Don’t forget to check in and get a deal!
