Is Now the Time to Get a Jump Start on Location Based Marketing?

I remember the first time I heard about Twitter , it was March of 2008, I was on a plane to London and there was an article about it in Inc. Magazine.  Later that week I was watching a local news program on the hotel television and they were talking about Twitter, too. At that point, I didn’t understanding what Twitter exactly was, or what kind of service it could provide. I was unsure of why anyone would want to use it.  I thought “Why not just call your friends and tell them what you are doing? This seems like a dumb idea.”

Fast forward to Summer 2010, Twitter is a household name, and everyone has heard about it, whether they use it or not.  I have to admit I use Twitter frequently; in fact, I have met a lot of people and found local businesses through it.  I even meet one of my good friends on Twitter before we connected in person.

Twitter + GPS Technology = Foursquare?

Now the newest technology trend is location-based applications, described by Inc. Magazine as “a particularly hot area for new companies”. One of the most popular location-based service today is Foursquare (although, Facebook launched a similar service today).   Foursquare allows you to check-in to places, meet up with friends and discover new places, using the GPS on your mobile device.

How does it work? Users “check-in” to locations throughout the day (“check-in” is equivalent to “like” on Facebook) and chances are, if my friends are frequently checking into a location, I would want to check it out as well. For instance, I see my Foursquare friends are at a great new restaurant raving about the atmosphere and giving tips on what to order, and this intrigues me so I “check-in” and check it out for myself.

I have a few friends and family members that use it now and it’s interesting to see what they are doing.  My friend Adam had a few suggestions on uses for Foursquare, one of them being an “automatic time capsule.” I’m still at the stage where I’m not sure what it will be or what the best use of the tool is, but I am testing it out. 

Using Foursquare as a Marketing Tool

One thing that jumps out at me is that I think Foursquare has great potential for businesses to market to their clientele.  Foursquare enables businesses to target potential customers in their area based on interests.  Using Foursquare your establishment could offer discounts to people checking in and also alert nearby users of current specials.  In addition, Foursquare provides real time analytics such as recent visitors, frequent visitors, time of day people check in, total number of unique visitors, gender breakdown of customers, and more.

What do you think? Is now the time to try Foursquare and get a jumpstart on location based marketing?