From a marketing standpoint, the value of location-based services such as Foursquare is endless. Local businesses can gain insight to consumer behavior by geographic tagging (GPS), local search, and location based analytics. Businesses can then tie the information into their digital campaign.

The general idea behind Foursquare is about rewarding its users with three different merit systems: Points, Badges and Mayors.

1) Points – Points are awarded at increments based on factors such as a new venue, which may yield a higher point allocation.

2) Badges – Badges are awarded for achieving milestones tied to either the number of check-in’s at a given location, or the amount of check-in’s throughout the day.

3) Mayor – A mayor is a user who is in 1st place defined by most check-ins for that specific location.

Here is a great example from an article I read that puts Foursquare into action. A local café in San Francisco put up signs indicating that the Foursquare Mayor drinks for free. This is brilliant! The competition elements of the game mean that they’ve just manufactured a social contest. What does that mean you ask? The answer: They have just initiated patrons to engage in intense mayoral battles, meaning more frequent check-ins, and a ton of free online exposure for their local café business.

Do you have any similar examples/stories with using location-based marketing? Please feel free to share your opinions in the comments section below.