Just in time for SXSW, location based check-in service Foursquare kicked out their app upgrade to 3.0. This release is full of new features for both Foursquare users and business owners using the platform to market.

Foursquare To Help You Explore & Engage More

The new features for Foursquare users lead me to believe that Dennis Crowley and the team really took along look at how to benefit their new to moderate users and get them to engage more.

1. Explore – Added to the main navigation of the app is an Explore tab.  This new feature offers an easy way to search and see what’s close to you and get more specific with what you are looking for.  Results will also put you on to what places your friends may have checked-in at and also what other users have to say about it.  This feature is both useful and will help Foursquare get more users to check-in more.

2. Specials – Users now see all nearby specials when locating a place to check-in.  The past format would only give you one nearby special once you had selected a place.  This makes specials a bigger and more visible piece to using Foursquare.  I do think their filtering needs work as I see many specials first that are much further away then ones right by me.

3. Engage – My favorite addition with 3.0 is on the screen following your check-in.  Foursquare has added more information on your check-in, more point options and a better view of where you rank with your friends.

You’ll know if you’re the first of your friends to check-in somewhere, if you’re close to your highest point total for a week or if you have cracked the top 10 of your friends point totals.  All of this data leads to provide users with more reasons to check-in.

Foursquare Marketing For Business

2010 saw a rush of small and large business move fast to understand location based marketing and put together offers on Foursquare.  The latest update looks to put more free marketing and promotion options into the hands of businesses with new special levels:

• Swarm Special: If a certain amount of people check-in at the same time, a retailer can offer a discount.
• Friends Special: If you and a X number of friends check-in a a certain store, you can all get a percentage off.
• Flash Special: First so many people to check-in get a deal on their purchase.
• Newbie Special: First check-in gets a special offer.
• Check-In Special: As long as you check-in you get a deal.

These new options go along with the existing options for loyalty specials and mayor specials.

Foursquare Stats

• Foursquare is the “mayor” of LBS apps with over 7 million users
• Foursquare check-ins now number over half a billion
• In 2010, SMB’s marketing on Foursquare grew from 900 to 250,000
• Minnesota was 3rd for percentage of gym check-ins in 2010 with 2.42% of all check-ins

Will All This Fuel Further Growth?

With any update, it can be as much about timing as features and Foursquare seems to have nailed both with 3.0’s arrival. The new features have added more ways to find places and more ways to engage users than just gaining mayor status.  Businesses now have more promotion options to encourage check-ins, loyalty and interaction.

While Facebook Places and Deals continue to lack adoption, Foursquare should make continued noise in 2011 with more users, more check-ins and more businesses finding success using LBS based promotions.

If they can get anywhere close to their 3,400% growth from 2010 in 2011, things might get interesting.