As any earned media enthusiast knows, the most important aspect of a digital campaign is having a diversity of sources. Facebook is nice but if you can find a way to include Twitter your content will have better reach. Youtube is always fun but incorporate a Tumblr account and suddenly you’re rolling in impressions. Now you want to include Google+ as well? Friend – we may have a future together.

Each platform brings a unique approach and opportunity for brands to present their voice. As certain kinds of content flourish in different arenas, it is especially important to make sure to have diverse means by which to distribute this information. It is for this reason that I would like to see a more widespread adoption of foursquare brand pages.

Deals, Sweepstakes, Tips, and the Celebrity Experience

As a social media experience based upon virtual check-ins at physical locations, foursquare’s use for intangible brands may not be obvious. But the service has already proven its worth for top brands across the country. With MTV, People’s Magazine, and Gossip Girl ranking among the top 10 brands on foursquare, it is quickly becoming apparent that success is not necessarily contingent upon the possession of a brick and mortar establishment. As with any other social media platform, the most important part of any foursquare campaign is content and experience.

• DEALS – In order to promote their “Eatocracy Week”, CNN partnered with foursquare and 6,000 farmers’ markets across the country to bring users the “Healthy Eating” badge. Foursquare users who followed the brand could unlock the badge by checking in at any of the 6,000 farmers’ markets recognized by the USDA. Along with the badge, users also unlocked discounts and free gifts from the vendors at the market, ranging from price cuts to pumpkins.
  
• SWEEPSTAKES – During the both the summers of 2010 and 2011, MTV fans could unlock the “VMA Moonman” badge by checking in at specific music venues. Upon receiving the badge, the users name was automatically entered into a contest giveaway that led to one person winning a trip and two free tickets to the MTV Video Music Awards.
  
• TIPS – As promotion for a “12 hour epic TV event” The History Channel decided to provide historical tips and bits of knowledge to their fans. Check in to any major historical location across the country and you just might end up learning a little something new.
  
• CELEBRITY EXPERIENCE – Big fan of the TV show Top Chef? Want to see what it’s like to be one of the “Real Housewives”? Foursquare users that follow Bravo are awarded with free tips and a badge by checking in to any of the restaurants, bars, or locations listed by their favorite “Bravolebrities” as hot spots.

Is foursquare right for you?

With a rumored asking price between $10k – $25k per month, foursquare badges do not come cheap. Considered integral to many of these campaigns, the costs of a badge are a necessary evil for motivating a strong user base to engage with a brand. As the brand with the strongest following on foursquare, MTV has 338,000 fans, followed closely by Starbucks with 312,000 and The History Channel with 280,000. While this following slightly pales in comparison to MTV’s roughly 30 million Facebook fans or Starbucks’ almost 2 million Twitter followers, I believe it all comes down to diversity. While still a new-comer to the world of brand’s, foursquare’s presence is helping to bridge the gap between campaigns that exist on the web and those that exist in the physical world. I believe that brands should embrace this new frontier and take advantage of the opportunity to increase the variety of content that they distribute to followers.