- What is Facebook Places?
- How to Check In the Smart Way
- Being Smart with Facebook Places
- Facebook Places for Business
Facebook Places for Business
If you own or manage a business, the calculus for Facebook Places is much different than for most Facebook users. My advice here can be boiled down to three words: Use Facebook Places!
Specifically, you should do all of the following:
- Use Places to check inand use Deals. To understand how to advertise effectively on Facebook, you need to be a user. For Facebook Places and Deals, that means using them regularly as you go about your life.
- Claim your Place. When you check in to your own business, you’ll see a link at the bottom of the page: Is this your business? Click it, and follow the instructions onscreen to edit the listing, and to verify that this is indeed your business.
- Encourage customers and visitors to check in. Use signs, your online presence, and direct verbal encouragement to help get people in the habit of checking in, and of “Like”-ing your business online. If you think it will help to offer a discount, raffle, or some other incentive, do it. You want to show yourself to be on top of things, and to gain valuable followers and “buzz” on Facebook early on.
- Offer (irresistible) Deals. Offer Facebook Deals. Make them irresistible at first – a 50% discount, say, or a $10 charity contribution with a purchasejust to get people engaged, and to see what works. You can always lower the premium as you, and your customers, learn your way around Facebook Places and Deals, but early involvement is crucial.
If you don’t know how to do some of thishow to offer Deals, for instance my upcoming book, Sams Teach Yourself Facebook For Business in 10 Minutes, will give you all the details. Look for it at bookstores near you in June 2011.
And if you’re a customer, rather than a business owneror bothencourage businesses you frequent to do all of the above. You want to get the most out of Facebook Places, and you can only do that if your favorite businesses are quick on the uptake as well.