FaceBook Places - What Can It Do For Your Business?
With the introduction of Facebook Places, businesses will have a new platform to market the location of their business with the hopes of bringing more customers through their doors.
This is a new application and intended only for Smartphone users; plans to add Android and Blackberry services are said to be in the works although there is no release date available at present.
This application will allow Facebook users to chart their location and "check in" at their favorite places.
They will also be able to look for places to go in their area.
As a business owner, you can use Places to give Facebook your business location.
You or a Facebook friend will need to have a Smartphone to do this.
Once your location has been submitted, you can then go to the Places page on Facebook and claim the location as your own.
During this process, you will need to verify that you are indeed the owner of this business by uploading an official business document such as a business license as proof that you are a representative of that business.
Claiming the Place will then turn it into a Facebook page which you can update and add information to.
Imagine if you are a restaurant and you post your daily special on your Facebook page.
This will give you the opportunity to pre-sell as well as already having a word-of-mouth referral from the person who checked-in at your location.
You could even build a marketing campaign based on the use of Places.
Offer a free appetizer or beverage for customers who check-in on their phone when they visit your establishment, thus positively promoting your business to their friends.
You can expect to see Apps becoming available for not only promoting places, but also for gathering data about Facebook users in your demographics.
This will create a whole new way to gather information about user's spending and shopping habits and their brand preferences.
I can see this being a very powerful way to promote your business locally.
Granted, there will be some bugs to be worked out since this is a brand new feature, but the smart business owner will get in early and ride it out.
This is a new application and intended only for Smartphone users; plans to add Android and Blackberry services are said to be in the works although there is no release date available at present.
This application will allow Facebook users to chart their location and "check in" at their favorite places.
They will also be able to look for places to go in their area.
As a business owner, you can use Places to give Facebook your business location.
You or a Facebook friend will need to have a Smartphone to do this.
Once your location has been submitted, you can then go to the Places page on Facebook and claim the location as your own.
During this process, you will need to verify that you are indeed the owner of this business by uploading an official business document such as a business license as proof that you are a representative of that business.
Claiming the Place will then turn it into a Facebook page which you can update and add information to.
Imagine if you are a restaurant and you post your daily special on your Facebook page.
This will give you the opportunity to pre-sell as well as already having a word-of-mouth referral from the person who checked-in at your location.
You could even build a marketing campaign based on the use of Places.
Offer a free appetizer or beverage for customers who check-in on their phone when they visit your establishment, thus positively promoting your business to their friends.
You can expect to see Apps becoming available for not only promoting places, but also for gathering data about Facebook users in your demographics.
This will create a whole new way to gather information about user's spending and shopping habits and their brand preferences.
I can see this being a very powerful way to promote your business locally.
Granted, there will be some bugs to be worked out since this is a brand new feature, but the smart business owner will get in early and ride it out.