Social Media allows us to celebrate a slew of different days that we may not ordinarily recognize. There are completely random blog “Delurking” days where authors call for comments, September 19 (9/19) usually hosts Talk Like A Pirate Day, and March 15 (3/14) is traditionally Pi Day (3.14). This year geo-tagging-check-in service Foursquare has laid claim to April 16 (4/16) and declared it Foursquare Day, the first official Social Media holiday.

Foursquare is a social network that is dependent upon its users using location based applications on their mobile phones to “check-in” at venues around their city. The network awards points for every check-in a user makes and the user with the most check-ins at a specific venue over a running two month period is awarded the title of “Mayor“. This lends a tone of gameplay and creates a level of competition amongst the networks members that is fueled further by users earning badges for completing certain achievements under certain conditions.

One of the more sought after badges for Foursquare users is the Swarm badge. This badge is only earned when 50+ users are checked into the same venue within a limited time period. Business users have used the allure of this badge to increase attendance at their properties, and there is no reason why our agencies can’t do the same to reach out to our community.

Your agency can host an open house, partner with a local business for a fundraiser, or use the opportunity to provide a service such as a blood sugar check or a car seat check for residents. You can also use it as an educational opportunity. As an example, the Tampa Bay Swarm Party will be using #4SQDay to promote Don’t Twive, the “Don’t Tweet And Drive” campaign against distracted driving.

Four Quick Steps To Planning A #4SQDay Event

1. Plan an event with a set time and location that is registered in the Foursquare database
2. Create a flier featuring your agency logo and the Swarm badge to be posted both locally and on your agency hub
3. Use Facebook Events and Twitter to announce and invite your fan base to the event (a lot of businesses have had success using Twitvite, so we recommend you try it out as well )
4. Continue to promote your event before it, during it, and even after it (on Twitter use the official hashtag #4SQDay). Also make sure to submit your event to @4sqday on Twitter or at 4SQDay.com

Using Social Media to organize and promote actual events is just another way to connect with your community and help get your message out there.

Additional Resources: Case Study – How To Use Foursquare To Draw A Crowd, How To Have An Awesome Foursquare Day Swarm

About the author

Dave Konig wrote 205 articles on this blog.

Dave has been involved in Social Media since 2005 through the current major services and some defunct ones as well. During this time he has been able to hone the craft by testing out the theories of others, creating his own philosophies, and gathering a better understanding of the mediums involved through networking and most importantly actual practice.

• Blog
• Twitter
• Facebook

Related posts:

1. How Live Events Improve Your Social Media
2. What The Amazon Cloud Service Outage Really Means For Us
3. DHS Announces New National Terrorism Advisory System
4. Social Media: The Real First Responder In Haiti