It may have started out as a way for friends to keep up with one another, but over the years, Facebook has become increasingly commercialized. Now, a new feature has been introduced that provides subscribers with location-based recommendations. The recommendations, known as Place Tips, will appear at the top of subscribers' news feeds, whenever they're in close proximity to a location where the feature is active, based on the history of likes or content relevant to that business
It may sound innocuous, but there's already been some speculation that Place Tips could lead to the demise of Yelp, at least according to InvestorPlace. Whether or not that'll occur remains to be seen, but one thing is certain: Place Tips are here, and in order to remain competitive, brands need to learn how to leverage them.
Brands need to be aware of two key things when it comes to Place Tips. First, the new feature is only applicable to local businesses that have a physical geographic location. In other words, Place Tips will not serve as a source of organic exposure for businesses that operate strictly online. Second, Place Tips include user-generated content regarding businesses in a manner similar to Yelp and other sites.
Information Revealed by Place Tips
So, what exactly does Place Tips show? Actually, they show quite a lot. For instance, the feature will include an info card with quick facts related to that business. If a user's Facebook friends have been geotagged for that business's location, that friend's photo will appear. In the event a user's friend posts content relevant to that business, or even a nearby business, that will also appear. Recent content and photos posted by the business could also be shown. Currently, Place Tips has only been rolled out in limited areas and their reach will likely expand in the near feature.
Potential for Ads
Facebook's indicated that it doesn't plan to use the new feature for placing ads, but has stipulated that they may explore that option at some point in future. The chance that Place Tips could soon be linked to ads seems quite likely, given how successful mobile ads have been for the platform - during the last quarter of 2014, mobile ad revenue comprised almost 70% of the company's total ad revenue, which was almost $4 billion, a year-over-year increase of 53%.
Why Place Tips Matters to Local Businesses
While Place Tips may not matter to business which solely operating online, it could prove to be of significant importance to local businesses. Social-Local-Mobile is rapidly evolving as an important digital marketing trend, and Place Tips has the potential to drive that trend.
Optimizing for Place Tips
So, if you're a local business, what can you do to make sure you're optimized for Place Tips when it comes to your area?
- If your Facebook page has not been updated recently, now is the time to do so. Make sure your page contains all the pertinent information, particularly your address and other location related information.
- Be sure to regularly update your page. Post relevant, fresh content. Keep in mind that Place Tips will choose the content to show to users, so supply a steady stream of fresh content to gain a competitive edge.
- Use rewards and in-store events to encourage customers to check-in on Facebook.
Place Tips will continue to evolve as Facebook roll outs the new feature more widely - now is the time to ensure that your business is prepared.
This post originally appeared on the Launch & Hustle blog