FourSquare have re-launched their mobile app and shifted their focus from check-ins to mobile search and real-time personalised recommendations for things happening around you.
The company’s founder, Dennis Crowley explained why they’ve made the switch, “Mobile search is just broken. Everyone in this goes to yelp and searches and each of us get the same result. That’s clearly a broken model because every one of us is going to do different things or have different favourites”.
How can FourSquare help your brand? If you have brick and mortar outlets the new API features offer some new ways to deliver your content. With Local Updates, it’s now possible to send push notifications within FourSquare messaging customers about a latest product line or sale, Promoted Updates allow brands to place these notifications within search results. Users can then redeem Promoted Specials - special offers or discounts - in exchange for a check-in.
If you make apps or your brand releases promotional apps you can now send push notifications to download your apps and easily build location based applications around FourSquare’s platform. For example, Localmind, an app where users can ask questions about locations and get answers in real-time from people who have recently checked-in there.
Gamification may be dying but FourSquare has grown up and is taking on the big boys.
