It’s no secret that Facebook Places was a complete knock-off of Foursquare’s Check-ins. But rather than getting mad, Foursquare is getting even. Earlier this month Foursquare publicly launched its Pages for Brands, a service which had previously been available on a case-by-case basis. Now Brands can create a custom landing page on Foursquare that showcases all of their tips and even allows Foursquare users to follow them.



For the same you reason you’d want a branded page on Facebook, a branded Foursquare Page is a great way to engage with your customers and show them that you’re a part of their lifestyle. With your logo prominently featured, you have the opportunity to curate an experience by showing your various Foursquare tips, something that Foursquare is likening with a “Tweet that’s anchored to a location.” And when users follow you, they automatically subscribe to your news feed, receiving updates on your promotions, specials, and more.

If your brand is a heavy Foursquare user, creating a branded Page is a natural next step. If your brand is still new to Foursquare, consider starting with a promotion or two to first get to know the community and the features Foursquare offers. It’s likely that Foursquare Pages will continue to evolve over time, so brands who don’t want to be early adopters might even benefit from waiting for the next version.

Combined with the recent launch of the Foursquare Merchant API, there’s no question that Foursquare is serious about creating new business opportunities for brands. There are already more than 3500 brands with Pages, so this new tool is definitely worth keeping an eye on.