Facebook Places launched just about two weeks ago claiming three major features for its users: to allow users to share where they are with their friends, to allow users to see who is near them, and to allow users to discover new places around them.
On the other side of things, what does this have in store for marketers? Here are some potential ways marketers can use Facebook Places to their advantage:
1. Reach
Places check-ins, by default, will automatically post to a users profile and news feed (unless the user adjusts their privacy settings). That means that your business is reaching all of the friends of each user that checks-in to your venue. This not only helps people discover new places, but broadcasts your venue to the entire Facebook network. According to Facebook, “The Places product creates more ways for you to promote and grow your business on Facebook. By giving your potential customers the ability to check-in at your business, you give them the power to tell their friends about your business.”
2. Location Promotion
There are around 1.5 million business pages on Facebook. Businesses with an existing Facebook page can merge with their Places page by “claiming” it or also by letting Facebook know that the page belongs to them. Once verified by Facebook, every time a user checks-in from that location, the business will unintentionally receive exposure from all check-ins at their location.
3. Promotions, Discounts, and Offers
This aspect of the “check-in” game became popular on Foursquare. Though Facebook Places is attempting to take a different route by focusing on creating experiences for people and are more focused on people having memories of places and meeting new people with the same interests, it potentially could be used as a way of distributing promotions, discounts, and special offers to people within a certain proximity.
4. Data
Just as Foursquare and other location based applications provide business owners with data, Facebook Places allows for the collection of this data as well. Business owners will be able to see how many times a user has checked-in, tips, advice, and comments. This can become extremely valuable since it can allow the tracking of customer activity, consumer persona, and competitor activity.
It will be very interesting to see how Facebook Places continues to develop down the road, especially when it is introduced to other countries other than the US (Facebook Places is currently only available in the US).
How else do you think Facebook Places can benefit marketers?
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The Discovery Communications Group is an award-winning, fully-integrated marketing agency located in Salem, NH, that specializes in professional web design, search engine optimization, and social media marketing strategy. DCG also provides printing and mailing services to meet every advertising need, servicing clients throughout New Hampshire and Massachusetts.
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