I was at Inman Connect last week and one of the most talked about presentations was the FourSquare presentation. In case you haven’t stumbled upon FourSquare here is how they define themselves
“foursquare is a cross between a friend-finder, a social city-guide and a game
that rewards you for doing interesting things. We aim to build things to not only help you keep up with the places your friends go, but that encourage you to discover new places and challenge you to explore your neighborhood in new ways.”
I have noticed more and more foursquare activity on my facebook feed, and there has certainly been quite a bit of controversy. Janie Coffee wrote a great post that inspired quite a bit of commentary.
It is clear that foursquare can provide some relevant feedback if you are a location owner and want to follow who is or has been checking in and who is frequently your organization. Mashable.com contributed a compelling post about why foursquare is more than just the lastest fad.
But what about real estate? Here are just a few thoughts on some uses for foursquare.
- Listing agents can add their listings to foursquare as a tracking and feedback mechanism. Imagine that every showing was accompanied by the showing agent “checking in” and using the tip as feedback. Listing agents and homeowners alike can check and see who is showing the property and how often they are coming back.
- Take that same thought and imagine the prospecting tool you have if you are interested in pursuing expired listings.
- Use foursquare to track attendance at office tours, caravans or meetings.
- A fun contest idea to get a specialty tour of featured homes.
- Build neighborhood or condo check in and compete for “mayorship”. I can see where being Mayor of a particular neighborhood could be of real value on a listing presentation.
I am sure there are many more ways that foursquare can work for real estate. There is a developer API out there and that section alone can open up all kinds of real estate uses.
There are iPhone and BlackBerry applications ready for you to download. Go ahead and sign up, enter your listings, put it in your comments. Let’s see what happens. Looks like foursquare might just be another social media application that has found a home in real estate.
Hi Beth,
Thanks for the kind words. I definitely think that creative Realtors can find ways to incorporate Foursquare into their business plan that is fun, engaging and professional. I am really looking forward to the coming months as its usage expands. Here in Miami, it’s quite rapid! More interesting stuff to come for sure!
I think Foursquare is an interesting game that could become very intersting to watch when it plays out.
Do I see a real estate benefit? Not really. Are you an area expert? There are a lot of ways to show that. If I told 95% of my listing appointment that I was mayor of Foursquare they’d grab a map and try to find it. I think it is GREAT that agents are working to be known in a community and seen as area experts.
I just think there are a lot more productive ways to show it than a “check-in.”
I also challenge the value to a local business. The majority of check-ins I find are merely that check-ins. No comment. “I’m at Beehive Books 25 N. Sandusky St.” How does that help the business owner? IF you leave feedback and tips then it does provide value. But if I only get it from 5 out of 100, that’s not really a great response.
Hey Toby – I certainly see what you are saying. However, if you can make giving showing feedback fun, it is truly worthwhile information for a seller. Broker’s Open and Caravans are useful, but the forum is a bit stale – use foursquare add a little sizzle. Good agents will always find good ways of distinguishing themselves. I see Foursquare as a way to make some of the perfunctory steps of the real estate agent’s job just a little more fun.