The social media brand tracking site Fan Page List today expanded its directory of official corporate social media pages to include brand profiles on Foursquare, the leading location-based social network.
There are 132 “brands” with at least one Foursquare follower in the directory. Number one is Zagat, which publishes restaurant guides for major cities based on a large customer survey, with more than 51,000 friends.
Location-based social networking is a prime space for brands, who can grab advertise to users more immediately than ever before. Last month, we explained how Foursquare partnerships with brands are like layers of data that brand fans can opt-in to seeing as they navigate around their towns.
Television is dominating the top ten on Fan Page List’s leaderboard, with the History Channel, MTV, VH1, and TLC occupying the number three, number four, number six, and number nine spots.
Zagat’s popularity makes sense because people use Foursquare to get tips on where to eat and what to order. Television, despite being location-agnostic, is still fun to talk about – just check Twitter’s trending topics when American Idol is on.
Location-based social networks also hold a lot of possibilities for media like the Wall Street Journal, which has experimented with pushing hard news tips based on users’ locations. The Wall Street Journal, Huffington Post, CNN and New York Magazine all made it into the top 20.
Just because we know you want to know, the number one brand on Facebook is Facebook. Number two? Starbucks. On Twitter, it’s – you guessed it – Twitter at number one, surpassing CNN at number two.
Foursquare is still much smaller than Facebook and Twitter – the top brands on those sites have 440 times and 100 times as many followers as the top brands on Foursquare.
Foursquare had 1.8 million users at the end of June, and the company says it is adding 100,000 users a day. Between its growing popularity and the advertising possibilities for brands that know where there customers are, we expect to see more brands jumping into the pool.
Top Five Brands on Foursquare:
1. Zagat Survey – 51,056 friends
Posts restaurant reviews and specials.
2. Bravo – 48,659 friends
Posts venue reviews from cast and crew of the network’s TV shows like Top Chef and Millionaire Matchmaker.
3. History Channel – 45,261 friends
Posts cool historical information about locations around the U.S.
4. MTV 39,489 friends
Posts tips on where to go in order to act like a dignified, intelligent adult like the stars of Real World and Jersey Shore.
5. Bastard Jeans 33,608 friends
Bastard Jeans has a standard User account, not a formal brand account, so its Tips can’t be viewed outside of L.A.
