Foursquare Launches New Mobile App

Foursquare has just announced a new Foursquare for Business companion app that allows business owners to update and check their Foursquare activity on the go. According to Foursquare’s blog, this new app makes it possible to “create a Foursquare update and easily cross-post it to Facebook and Twitter at the same time” with the added functionality of being able to view how many check-ins you are getting and to turn specials on and off from the convenience of a tablet or smartphone.

Does your nonprofit use Foursquare? And if so, will this app help you brand yourself more effectively? The answer to these queries may vary, but it can be a useful tool. Foursquare has a “tips” section that is useful to understand as a nonprofit organization. This section is usually used by restaurants to say, “check out the tapas menu, you will thank me later.” This helps the restaurant expose its customers to something they may not have tried yet, and helps give the company a voice and a persona. It shouldn’t surprise you that nonprofits can benefit from developing a persona, as well. In this tips section, a nonprofit can give tips for volunteering, or give statistics to foster a feeling of community and change through the shared knowledge. The knowledge that the place at which you have just “checked-in” knows that you are helping or want to help is of great advantage to both the business and the client. In Foursquare, users that check-in can achieve a badge for their first-time check-in or can be rewarded for a milestone number of check-ins. This also gives a nonprofit the ability to touch a volunteer, or a donor in a more personal acknowledgement that will foster the relationship between organization and patron. The Red Cross gives a badge for checking in for a blood donation and thanks the donor for saving a life. The purpose of many nonprofits is to create a community of like-minded people that are striving for the same goal. It seems fitting that social media would fit into this mold quite nicely, because social media is a community in which the user decides what his/her interactions are and how to interact within that community. The Foursquare for Business companion app might fit nicely into your social media framework. We will keep an eye on the ways that it empowers nonprofits in community building. Let us know your story about how you think Foursquare has helped or how the new app could potentially help your organization’s social media presence. ~Josef