At this week's ad:tech New York conference, foursquare cofounder Dennis Crowley spoke about the future of the platform and its movement toward a focus on "what happens after the check-in." Marketers may like some of the brand discovery and recommendation features the location-based service has in the works.
Crowley hinted a smarter algorithm may soon make manual check-ins unnecessary. The company is testing an autoprompt when users enter locations where they've checked in before, asking them if they want to check in automatically. For marketers, an instant check-in might boost brands' visibility on the platform.
Another development that could benefit local businesses is a brand discovery component. Crawley compared this to Twitter's suggested users feature, and he explained that the company is working on a way to make brand suggestions for users based on past check-ins. Similarly, he hinted at a new type of customized recommendations. With this feature, nearby businesses on the foursquare map will be suggested to users based on their current locations and the types of venues that comprise previous check-ins.
Marketers may find value in investing in foursquare this year. As Brafton has reported, major brands including Pizza Hut and McDonald's have seen success with foursquare campaigns, but it now seems that SMBs stand to gain from the geosocial platform's upcoming developments promoting nearby businesses to users – and this is a wise move on Crowley's part in light of the general buzz around local search at ad:tech New York.
