Author of The Power of Foursquare Carmine Gallo explains Smartphone app foursquare and its social media branding capacities for business owners. ——————– “Foursquare is a powerful form of marketing. It’s an extension of our brand in a fun, helpful and targeted way,” said the head of marketing at Corcoran Group, a real estate company in the U.S. Corcoran has populated foursquare tips all over the country, and when you check in to a particular venue, you can find these Corcoran-branded tips anywhere around. It’s fascinating. I actually discovered Corcoran because I went to a place called the Shake Shack in New York City. The Shake Shack is a burger joint, and it had a line about 45 minutes long wrapped outside and around it. I thought, “That’s crazy. Who’s going to sit in a line for 45 minutes?” I opened foursquare, and there was a tip from Corcoran. The tip said, “We notice you’re at the Shake Shack. You know there’s a much shorter line for people who don’t want a hamburger – for ice cream, for sundaes, for sodas, anything else.” Everywhere I went in New York City – restaurants, hotels – there were tips left by Corcoran. I called up the head of marketing at Corcoran, and he says:
“This has been an incredibly powerful form of marketing for us, because we are actually placing that Corcoran expertise in the hands of mobile users wherever they are.”
You may be wondering how this helps a real estate company. Corcoran was one of the first real estate companies on the Internet. They were one of the first to have a website. They were one of the first to be on Twitter. They have a Facebook page, and they were an early social media adopter in the real estate area. They say that Foursquare is just an extension of everything else they have been doing in terms of social media. Corcoran has 22,000 followers on Foursquare, 17,000 on Twitter, and 113,000 Facebook fans. If you have a business, you should have a Twitter account and Facebook page. But what’s the next logical extension?
Mobile social media.
Mobile is new—it’s edgy, it’s growing, and it’s where the future is. It offers you a free and easy way to begin attracting, rewarding and engaging customers. It’s moving very quickly. So, get on board. Stop sketching and start building. It’s free. You’re not losing anything. You can wait to be a follower, or you can be the case study. 
Click here to access The Power of Foursquare webinar from On-Demand Learning: Click here to securely purchase Carmine Gallo’s book, The Power of Foursquare: This article was co-authored by Elizabeth Rowe. Elizabeth graduated with a Bachelor of Arts (English Literature) at the ANU and a Masters of Media Practice at the University of Sydney. She is currently completing an internship with the Australian Businesswomen’s Network.
