Factual and Foursquare

[mikepetersonwi]

Forgive me if this is covered already. If it was, I couldn't find it.

Since the merger of Factual and Foursquare, how should one manage them as aggregators? Will one of these "go away?" Which should I be working with looking forward? Also, what is the best way to manage listing with them? individually/direct, or through a service such as BrightLocal?

Thanks in advance.

Mike

 

[StephanieNewton]

Hey Mike, we actually shared some information about this switch at the end of last year, as we now use Foursquare. Hopefully this answers your questions: Say Hello to Faster Data Aggregator Submissions with Foursquare. Feel free to pop me a message too if you do want to speak about working with BrightLocal to manage data aggregators (more info here: Data Aggregator Submission Service | Submit to 4 major data aggregators).

Best of luck

 

[Nyagoslav]

Hi Mike,

It is still unclear as of yet how exactly Foursquare and Factual are going to use their combined resources and data. One thing that appears to be certain is that Factual is going to disappear as a standalone business data management service. Thus, the most likely scenario is that as far as listing management is concerned, everything will be done via Foursquare.

You can manage your Foursquare listings either by yourself, or via an agency, depending on your budget and your capabilities. Unlike Factual, where listings could be added/updated only via a Trusted Data Contributor company, Foursquare allows anyone to manage listings.

 

[Eoghan_Aircam]

Factual's file submission portal shut down months ago. Any data TDCs are sending to Factual now isn't going anywhere. They're in the process of merging databases and Foursquare is taking it all over. Don't pay anyone anything to submit to Factual.

I don't know if you can manage multiple listings well on Foursquare directly, as all I've ever known is you could do it only through API unless you were an advertiser on Foursquare back in its hey day. Maybe some offshore operation can handle it through native claiming but I'm not sure. If you're just a single location business, definitely just try to go direct.

All listing management vendors have relationships with Foursquare but may bundle it in with other packages. We have also tested how successfully their data gets syndicated out to their licensee network (ie. to Snapchat's Map product, international Apple Maps listings) and it's not very reliable. Foursquare's direct traffic isn't significant anymore either. I would not prioritize if you're pressed for budget.