Some social media experts have declared that Foursquare, the geolocation application for mobile devices, to be “the next big thing” in social media. Others believe it to be a passing fancy that will disappear when people tire of the novelty of it.

I, for one, don’t care about the longevity of the product. It is my job to use these tools, trendy or not, to help people increase business. This week, it’s my job to help wineries. So, here we go with a list of why your winery tasting room should be making use of Foursquare, trend or not.

The Whys

1. Drinking Games are Fun – I know, it’s inappropriate and even crass to say to a high end winery, but, it’s a fact: Drinking games are fun. That doesn’t mean Joe Bob and his friends (they’ll be starring in the rest of the article) will use FourSquare to get tanked, but it does mean it adds that extra je ne sais quoi to the wine tasting experience. Foursquare is, at its core, an online game that incentivizes visitors to real world establishments with virtual points, badges, and titles.

I worked off and on in my family’s winery tasting room for over a decade. Some of our biggest days were those when we took part in various treasure hunts or stamp events. People got very excited about collecting stamps…probably a bit more so than they would have had wine not been involved. So, in summary, Foursquare and booze, in any form, are a good match.

2. People who don’t know about it, don’t know about it – Let’s be honest. People who don’t get social media, or even specific social media applications, tend to be hostile toward it. You don’t want to annoy those who want nothing to do with social media. Foursquare is kind of like a secret club. Joe Bob can check in via his own personal web device without Crotchety McGee having a clue.

3. FourSquare check-ins disseminate through various social media networks – When Joe Bob checks in to your establishment, this information is not only shared with other FourSquare users, but, if Joe Bob set up his account in a social way, that information will be shared with his Twitter followers and Facebook friends. Bonus: If Joe Bob happens to have 20,000 Twitter followers and 600 Facebook friends, you just got a lot of word of mouth advertising.

4. FourSquare is a user generated review site – While FourSquare isn’t necessarily billed as a geolocation tracking Citysearch or Yelp, that’s pretty much what it is. If you provide an excellent product and your staff provides excellent customer service, FourSquare users will let other FourSquare users know about it. Better yet, since the the “reviews” are billed as “tips” these reviews tend to be a bit more specific, thus more helpful, than those found elsewhere. For example, instead of saying something like, “Good wine, staff was nice”, Joe Bob may say something like, “Ask to try the Temperance Hill, it’s wonderful,” or “Katie works Saturday afternoons, and she knows her stuff!”.

5. Chances are your tasting room will be added, with or without your permission – Foursquare users can add businesses to the directory themselves. It’s always my opinion that your business should be listed in the way you want it to be listed. Take control early. Not only will you be able to name your business as you want to name it, but putting your business in the Foursquare directory will increase the likelihood of being visited by Foursquare users.

The Hows

1. Nothing required – As mentioned above, Foursquare is primarily a user driven game. You don’t have to do a thing for your business to be involved. Just trust that, some day, it will be. So, do nothing, or add your business yourself.

2. Incentivize the incentives – Foursquare, itself, provides great ideas of how to use Foursquare for your business. Specific to tasting rooms? Offer a 10% discount to anyone who checks into your tasting room. Again, think of it as word of mouth advertising. If you’re a Wine Bar, and have regular customers, offer a higher discount to the Mayor (the person who has checked into your establishment the most), thus creating a little discount competition. Get together with other wineries in your area and offer a small prize to anyone who checks into all of those wineries.

If you’re not ready, yet, to offer any discounts, a simple chalkboard with the Mayor’s name on it can be enough to create buzz for your company’s presence. Not to mention, there’s wine involved, so you’ll probably be taking pictures of many Mayors…which will, inevitably, be uploaded to various social media networks.