While Facebook continued to rule the roost in the social media world into Year 2011, the world’s leading location-based service Foursquare held it’s own by witnessing a 3,400 percent growth and signing up its 6 millionth user last week. 382 million check-ins a year is surely impressive.

I’ve always been an avid fan of location-based services and I strongly believe that it’s still a relatively untapped segment for business users. With Facebook Places joining the fray and Gowalla pushing hard for a slice of the pie, the location-based business-oriented social media sector has surely received a massive boost.

3400% Growth

Foursquare was once rubbished off as a fad amongst tech-savvy kids, with little use or business value. However, now it’s truly a global phenomenon and even saw a check-in from space. While recreation and entertainment continues to be a major source of Foursquare check-ins, the enterprise segment is no doubt beginning to make its presence felt.

The above Foursquare infographic shows a snapshot of global check-ins on a world map, documents check-ins by category throughout the day and provides lists of top check-in locations around the world. Interestingly, the United States accounts for nearly 60% of Foursquare’s user base with the rest 40% being split across the rest of the world. True to its reputation of technology addiction, Japan stands out as one of the leading nations to adopt Foursquare. The location-based service is also quiet popular in Western Europe, Southeast Asia and Brazil, thereby making it a truly global phenomenon.

Business Opportunity

A quick peak at the list of most popular check in locations (Train Stations, Hotels etc.) makes me believe that these are an ideal demographic for advertisers and businesses. Work/ office continue to be one of the top categories for check-ins.

An increasing number of businesses offer deals to foursquare users who check in on premises. To know how you can leverage Foursquare for your business, visit here.

Broader Picture

The social media world has gradually evolved from “what are you doing” philosophy to “where are you and what are you doing”. The explosive growth of location-based offerings such as Foursquare, Geolocation-enabled Tweets, Facebook Places all but confirms that this paradigm is here to stay.

While Foursquare is no Twitter in the making, it’s still a valuable business tool. With Facebook Places, Twitter Places, Yelp and several other location-based services in the offering, it’s certainly too good a business opportunity to miss out.

Have you leveraged location-based marketing for your business? Please share your opinion by leaving a comment below this post.