New York resident, Rob D’Asaro, checks in whenever he has a cup of coffee at Starbucks, takes out cash from Citibank, or has a need to dry clean his suits at Youme Cleaners.

Users get points participating in various activities, such as checking in at a location for the first time, traveling a certain distance between check-ins, or checking in often at the same location over time. A user with the most-check ins at any given venue is granted “mayor” status. A user can also earn “badges,” which reward a combination of behaviors. For example, one earns the “Local” badge if s/he checks-in at the same location three times in the same week. One can also earn the “Far Far Away” badge if s/he checks-in at NYC locations above 59th Street.

Although earning badges means nothing more than having the right to brag to your friends, those badges that are officially supported businesses across the country, such as Pinkberry offer Foursquare users discounts and/or tips when they check-in at their venue. Many businesses, such as Atomic Wings in NYC award “mayorship” with special discounts. Atomic Wings gives the mayor of its venue an extra 15 percent off. Others may award those who check-in at the venue using Foursquare a free product or an upgrade. For instance, Xoom Juice, a New York smoothie bar offers users a buy one, get one free smoothie. It’s East Village neighbor, Butter Lane cupcakes, offers a free cupcake every day to the first ten people to check in to Butter Lane on Foursquare. The Lite Choice of Gramercy Park rewards Foursquare users with free upgrades to a larger size cup or cone.

With Foursquare declaring April 16th an official FourSquare Day, the largest, global social media holiday, even more businesses have jumped on the location-based network’s bandwagon, offering its customers the sweetest deals! For a list of FourSquare Day events and participating local businesses around the nation, visit http://4sqday.com/cities.

Here are five ways NYC businesses are leveraging Foursquare that you can apply to your own:

1. Re-award your most-frequent customer/”mayor” with free or discounted products. For example, a worthy promotion may be, “If you’re the mayor, you drink for FREE on Thursday nights.” Not only will you be strengthening your customer relationships with a potential brand advocate, but you will also spur some friendly competition amongst Foursquare users to de-throne the current mayor and take their place.
2. Offer first-time customers a special discount in order to keep them coming back.
   
3. Offer a complimentary product with a purchase of another. For example, Bogota Latin Bistro at 141 5th Avenue, New York, NY offered a complimentary “Bogota Promo” drink with purchase of a main entree for all Foursquare check-ins on Foursquare Day.
4. Make Four Square users feel special. For example, New York Vinters offered a two-hour complimentary class with Executive Chef Chris Meeker who taught Foursquare users how to make delicious, gourmet pizza, in the comfort of your own home on Foursquare Day.
5. Attract new customers with “specials near by.” Notifying users who check-in at a nearby venue of special discounts can be a great way to drive new customers who may have otherwise not known about your business.

Is your business utilizing Foursquare? If so, leave a comment and let us know how you are leveraging Foursquare to drive new customers and engage existing ones.