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How to Advertise or Get Free Marketing on the New Facebook Places
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Location, location, location - that is the mantra of real estate, and it is fast becoming the mantra of social media marketing. Google has Google Places. Yelp has, well, Yelp. And now Facebook has Facebook Places. All provide value for merchants (for free), and value for customers (for free via reviews and postings), and again for merchants (via paid advertising). Facebook Places is new; so this tutorial post will outline the possible free marketing opportunities available via Facebook Places.
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By Jason McDonald
Senior SEO Instructor - JM Internet Group.
Posted: August 20, 2010
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Contents:
Location, Location, Location: How Facebook Places Works
Conceptually, Facebook Places is simple -
- Users know their location (a bar, restaurant, club... party) and post this to their Facebook status via their mobile phone (iPhone).
- Their friends are alerted to their location / activity.
- Friends can find friends and connect to share activities like bars, clubs, parties.
If texting is one to one communication - Facebook Places is one to many communication about where you are, and what you are doing. Many people use Twitter in this way, today. So Facebook Places is competitive with Twitter and also with the service, foursquare service.
Free Marketing Opportunities on Facebook Places.
What are the free marketing opportunities, then for businesses via Facebook Places?
- Business employees / customers can be encouraged to alert others to specials, promotions, just fun happenings at their bar, club, restaurant. Think 'restaurant manager' alerting his 'friends' on Facebook to a special Facebook-only happy hour.
- Businesses can have their own Facebook Place page, and thereby interact with their geographic customers as they now do with all their fans.
Will Facebook Places help attorneys, plumbers, hypnotherapists and others who depend on Google Places / Yelp? That's not clear and remains to be seen. The first wave is definitely going to be the entertainment industry!
Facebook Places: Cool Resources to Learn More
Facebook Places is new - announced just a few days ago - so I and everyone else are scrambling to learn more about it. I will be teaching our new Social Media Marketing Course in mid-September, so I am definitely researching the Facebook Places elements and their implications. Here are some of my recommended learning resources about Facebook Places -
Those are just a few places to get started with Facebook Places.
The Basics of Marketing on Facebook
Facebook, in case you have been imprisoned on another planet for the last five years, is a social media site on the Internet. People have 'pages' on Facebook and post announcements for themselves and their friends. Friends, of course, are connected to other friends and can interact with each others.
For business of course, the free Facebook marketing opportunities center around having a business page (originally called a 'Fan' page) and connecting with interested customers. Businesses announce events, specials, promotions, and news via their Facebook Pages, and customers can 'talk back' to the business and even participate in special groups or discussions.
The official Facebook explanation of Facebook for business has lots more details on getting your business on Facebook if you are not, already. You can become a friend of the JM internet Group by connecting with our own Facebook Page.
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