Foursquare is targeting businesses with its latest update: the ability to add events to the venues you manage.

“The goal of our whole suite of business tools is to give business owners better ways to communicate with customers when they’re nearby,” a Foursquare spokesperson told VentureBeat.

Although members can already access and edit events in the Foursquare app, this update allows businesses to add their own. Now restaurants, bars, book stores, and so on can get the word out about in-store events.

“Concerts, sporting events, and movies are some of our most checked into categories, so we expect the response to this launch to be positive, too,” stated the rep.

This is a big step for the company, which has been moving further away from being just a check-in app. Not only has Foursquare begun promoting new businesses, it’s now giving customers a chance to check in to in-store events — something that could result in a lot more foot traffic.

To start adding events, log in to your manager account on Foursquare.com and click on the “Tools” tab. And if you haven’t yet claimed your venue, it’s time you did.

[Via: VentureBeat, Image credit: Zach Chisholm]