Foursquare for Business

Updated: July 30, 2023

Foursquare for Business is a powerful location-based marketing platform designed to help businesses engage with customers and drive foot traffic to their physical locations. With Foursquare for Business, businesses can claim and manage their venue profiles, providing essential information such as address, hours of operation, and contact details. The platform allows businesses to create and promote special offers, discounts, and loyalty programs to attract new customers and retain existing ones. Foursquare for Business also enables businesses to track foot traffic and customer behavior patterns, providing valuable insights to optimize marketing strategies and improve the overall customer experience. Additionally, businesses can interact with customers through reviews and tips, fostering a sense of community and building brand loyalty. By leveraging Foursquare for Business, businesses can harness the power of location-based marketing to reach a targeted audience and increase visibility, ultimately driving more customers through their doors and maximizing their business's potential.

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2020. Foursquare merges with Factual



Foursquare, the renowned location platform, has revealed its plans to merge with Factual. Foursquare has transformed significantly since its inception in 2009. Initially, it served as a location-based social network, enabling users to check in at various places, share their experiences with friends, and earn badges. However, the company has evolved over time into an advertising and marketing platform that capitalizes on the power of location data. On the other hand, Factual, also established in 2009, started as a repository for open data but gradually shifted its focus towards leveraging location data to enhance advertising efforts. Factual offers brands the capability to track the effectiveness of their marketing campaigns by measuring the extent to which such campaigns drive physical visits to stores. Given these synergies, the merger between Foursquare and Factual appears to be a promising match.


2016. Foursquare 10 puts search front and center



Foursquare has introduced a redesigned version 10 of its app, delivering an enhanced user experience. The new homepage features a significantly faster search functionality, incorporating five chiclets that represent the most popular search categories: breakfast, lunch, dinner, nightlife, coffee/tea, and things to do. Additionally, Foursquare aims to further establish trust among its users. When a user posts a review, the app now displays the number of times that user has actually visited the reviewed location. This provides readers with valuable insights into the authenticity of the reviews, distinguishing them between "verified" users and others. Furthermore, Foursquare is actively working on improving its understanding of user location. This is evident not only in the search results it provides but also within the homepage itself. For instance, if a user has recently arrived in London, they will be greeted with a prominent banner acknowledging their presence in the city. The app is also designed to recognize special occasions such as Ice Cream Day or Burger Day, offering relevant banners that users can click on to discover suitable places to celebrate.


2016. Foursquare will allow businesses to know if their ads bring customers into actual store



Foursquare has introduced a new offering aimed at enabling advertisers to assess the impact of their campaigns. Through Attribution Powered by Foursquare, the company is granting access to its data for advertisers, irrespective of whether they run campaigns within the Foursquare or Swarm apps. The data primarily revolves around location, which sets Foursquare apart from competitors such as Facebook and Twitter. These platforms have also been striving to extend their advertising capabilities beyond their respective properties.


2016. Foursquare raised $45M to grow its business services



Foursquare has secured $45 million in funding to advance its business and enterprise location services. The company's media division, Pinpoint, which utilizes location information for businesses and advertisements, experienced a significant revenue growth of 170 percent in 2015 compared to the previous year. On the enterprise side, Foursquare has observed a remarkable 160 percent expansion, driven by its Places API customers and the newer Place Insights business. Place Insights has emerged from Foursquare's innovative location system, Pilgrim, which accurately identifies users' locations even without explicit check-ins. This capability not only enables Foursquare to provide personalized recommendations to its consumer app users but also generates valuable foot traffic data that can be leveraged by enterprise clients. Place Insights empowers enterprise customers to access anonymized aggregate trends, assisting them in determining optimal locations for physical businesses, inventory placement, investment decisions, and more.


2014. Foursquare officially kills check-in



Foursquare, the trailblazing company that introduced check-ins five years ago, has made the decision to remove this feature from its core app. The revamped Foursquare now focuses on local discovery, resembling a Yelp-like app, while check-ins have been separated into another app called Swarm. Foursquare CEO Dennis Crowley justified this move by highlighting that most users either exclusively utilize Foursquare for check-ins or solely for local discovery, with only a few engaging in both activities. By shifting away from check-ins, the company aims to strategically position itself in a highly competitive landscape. Today, numerous app companies recognize the significant potential of aiding local businesses in connecting with their customers through mobile apps. Foursquare's transition reflects this understanding while acknowledging the intense competition within this market.