The Benefits of Integrating foursquare with Advocacy

Since the close of 2009, digital media analysts have pointed to location-based services as the next phase of social communication.  More and more people are migrating toward smart phone technology enabled with GPS - comScore recently reported that 45 million in the U.S. use smart phones - and location-based services are one more way to put these phones to better use.  While there are many location-based platforms available and other existing online properties, like Twitter, Facebook, and Google Latitude have introduced location-based tools,  I personally prefer foursquare.  I’m an active member of the foursquare community.  With its easy Facebook and Twitter integration, it makes sense for my busy lifestyle, just as it can for the busy lives of those on-the-ground grassroots organizers.

Some grassroots organizers and activists are questioning the viability of foursquare for impacting change at the community level.  Others have been considering the potential.  I can see the argument from both sides, and have this conversation with colleagues regularly. Given that foursquare has recently partnered with some major media and entertainment organizations, I imagine it will have a longer life than some critics give it credit for and is a laudable tool to consider as you are planning your digital outreach efforts.

Here are just a few of the benefits foursquare brings to grassroots advocacy:

1. Show people where change is happening and give them directions on how to get involved. Even though critics point to foursquare’s small (but growing) user base as one of its downfalls, many cite its easy integration with existing social networks as one of its most endearing qualities – and I agree.  The tool integrates seamlessly with Twitter and Facebook, allowing for location-based updates in a format that’s easy to use.  There is little need to build your community in foursquare if you look at it as a tool to quickly broadcast your location and your advocacy event to the many followers, fans and friends you’ve cultivated in these more popular networks.  And, with its use of Google Maps, foursquare lets you easily get directions to that rally you just learned about and can’t miss.
2. Share tips that encourage behavior change. If you make the choice to invest in building a community on foursquare, one of the most effective things that cause communicators can do is share tips with people that encourage a specific behavior change.  It is yet to be seen if foursquare will actually motivate people to check out new venues or participate in activities that weren’t already on their radar, but it is helping people make decisions within the venue they’re already visiting.  For example, when I go to my local farmers market, I might find out that a vendor has a limited supply of asparagus and I’ll head there first to pick up what I need.  When thinking about how this could be useful through an advocacy filter, consider how you want people to behave in specific environments.  If you’re advocating for consumers to purchase more locally grown produce, you can share information about locally grown menu options at restaurants you’ve visited and provide resources for people to encourage a restaurant without a local focus to begin sourcing foods differently via the foursquare tips feed.  If you can activate your army of grassroots supporters to do the same, anyone visiting that venue will get flooded with details about your preferred menu items.  Like all digital media, foursquare becomes another avenue to communicate directly with your audience, delivering your message unfiltered and in the environment where you want behaviors to change.
3. Create new sponsorship opportunities. Many non-profit organizations thrive thanks to the generous support of corporate sponsors.  Since foursquare has found its niche as a marketing tool for for-profit entities, this creates a great fundraising opportunity for nonprofits.  Maybe Whole Foods is willing to give a $500 donation every month to the charity of its mayor’s choice?  Or the local brewery will let its mayor choose the beneficiary of its annual pub crawl?  Regardless, if you can think of ways that foursquare users could help your nonprofit benefit from corporate attention, you may be able to leverage the tool for sponsorship and fundraising conversations.
4. Make measurement easier. Changing attitudes and behaviors is a long process.  Health care reform alone has been decades in the making.  But just because one event can’t reverse a trend doesn’t mean that every activity cause communicators implement has little impact.  In reality, the opposite is true and changemakers are always looking for ways to demonstrate success.  There are many social media measurement tools out there to help us determine whether or not we’ve been successful, but if efficiency is a priority, we want tools that measure many efforts at once.  Luckily, HootSuite recently announced that the Twitter application will soon integrate with foursquare and MySpace.  If you’re using HootSuite to track your Twitter endeavors, you can use it for Twitter and foursquare simultaneously.

Now, go check-in somewhere fun and let us know what you think of foursquare’s potential.