Facebook Places in place of Yelp?

Digital Maids Facebook Places Screenshot

Facebook Places facebook.com/places

 

Whether you’re a frequent traveler, occasional traveler, or infrequent traveler, you’ve probably used Yelp to help acclimate yourself on where to go and what to do.  And why not?  It’s a convenient, easy to use tool for getting quickly up to speed on a new area or destination.   Increasingly, performing some type of online research regarding any type of travel related activity, including dining, lodging, and shopping, is the new norm.  According to a recent study on American consumerism, Americans not only use the Internet to stay connected to work, family and friends, 57 percent use social media networks for recommendations.

However, there are many that would prefer to see recommendations and reviews from people they know and opinions they feel are bona fide – friends, family, colleagues, neighbors.   Who hasn’t read a review on Yelp and paused momentarily to consider its authenticity?  Yelp continually tweaks its algorithms to ensure posts from trustworthy reviewers appear first, and it does offer the option for users to connect their Yelp profile with their Facebook account.  But in most scenarios you don’t actually know the person providing the review. This may cause you to pause yet again and wonder if you share the same likes and dislikes as the reviewer.  What if their idea of spicy is not your idea of spicy?  The pausing continues.  The wondering continues. Can you trust this review?

This is where Facebook Places, Facebook’s location based check in service,  can provide recommendations, reviews, and Check ins a more reliable, familiar setting  – they’re from your Facebook friends, which, hopefully, is people you know and trust, even if you’re not entirely sure of their definition of spicy.

To start, go to https://www.facebook.com/places or simply enter the destination in your Facebook search box:

digital maids facebook places screenshot

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Immediately, you will see which of your Facebook friends have Checked in to your destination, as well as a variety of activities organized by category, including Eat, Drink, and Sightseeing.

 

Digital Maids Facebook Places Screenshot

 

On a mobile device, it will appear something like this:

Digital Maids

To delve deeper, select “See More”:

Digital Maids Facebook Places Screenshot

 

From here all the pertinent categories will be listed on the left, and all subcategories can be filtered and further searched and refined.

Digital Maids Facebook Places Screenshot

You can easily click to a Business Page of interest, providing more opportunity to scan posts, upcoming events, menus, or Page reviews from the Facebook community.

In short, Yelp has great breadth and reach, and is ultimately easier to navigate.  But Facebook Places is a viable addition for those who don’t like the anonymity sometimes associated with a Yelp review.  For extensive consumer research, add both channels to your online investigating arsenal to get an informed opinion.

Business owner tip:   Don’t forget to make it easy for Facebook Places to find you.  Be sure to 1) use the Check in option in some of your posts (see screenshot below), 2) make sure your business category is up to date, 3) confirm your Page has been verified by Facebook and 4) enable user reviews and Check ins.

Digital Maids Facebook Places Screenshot

 

Do you use Facebook Places?  What are you feel are its pros and cons?  Comment and let us know.

Three helpful tips for Facebook Page admins

“Change is the only constant in life” – Heraclitus

Words to live by, and no one understands this observation more than a social media manager.   Like all 21 “relevant” social media channels, Facebook never stops tweaking, updating, and altering its features and functionality.   If you manage a Facebook Page or Pages, this means how you interact and use your Page today could very likely be different tomorrow.

Here are three recent changes Facebook recently made to their Business Pages to be aware of:

 

Liking another Page as your Facebook Business Page

You’ve probably noticed that Facebook revamped its settings in regards to how you access the newsfeed of your Business Page.  You no longer login as your Page to view the newsfeed of your Business Page like you do your personal newsfeed.   Now you select “View Pages Feed” to view, like, and interact with Pages your business has liked or is following.  This link can be found under the profile picture.

Digital Maids Facebook Business Page Tips

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

To like or follow new Pages as your Business Page, go to the Page, and select the three dots located at the bottom right of the cover photo.  From that drop down menu, select “Like As Your Page”

Digital Maids Facebook Business Page Tips

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

If you manage multiple Pages, you will see another drop menu.  Select the correct Page and save.

This recent update may have been made to reduce multiple logins, but it is a significant modification for businesses that regularly network and interact as their Business Page, and has not been well-received by the Facebook user community.

 

Instant Replies

If your Business Page receives numerous private messages, it’s always a good practice to acknowledge to the sender that their message has been received.  Instant Replies does just as the name implies – sends an automatic reply to any initial messages.   Given that’s it auto reply, be sure to add a personal tone to your message.

To turn on Instant Replies for your Page:

  1. Click Settings at the top of your Page
  2. Click Messaging in the left column
  3. Below Instant Replies, click to check the box next to Enable Instant Replies to quickly respond to initial messages
  4. Below Your Reply, enter your Instant Reply message
  5. Click Save

 

Digital Maids Facebook Business Page Tips

 

Note that Instant Replies should never fully replace authentic interaction with your audience.  They should be considered an initial acknowledgement of the message.

 

Boost your Call To Action

Looking to book an upcoming event or simply let prospects know how best to contact you?  If you have already set up your Facebook Call to Action (CTA) button to reflect this prompt, you can now promote your CTA button.   Select the arrow located at the end of your CTA, and then select Promote.  From there, you will see all the familiar ad options and fields, including budget, audience, and duration of promotion.

Digital Maids Facebook Business Page Tips Call To Action Button

What’s great about this feature is that in some scenarios a timeline post can’t effectively communicate what your CTA has already communicated – yet the only people seeing it are the ones who proactively visit your Page.   By promoting it, the CTA appears in your targeted audience’s newsfeed.

 

What else is new?

What recent Facebook Business Page changes have you noticed, embraced, or both?