Facebook Nearby is a local search tool that aggregates businesses and places.

Results are sorted by users’ friends’ actions (likes, check-ins, and recommendations). Presently, this search function is only available on iOS and Android mobile devices. This POV will explain how Nearby works, how brands should use it, and what to expect in the future.

Facebook is working to convert 543 million mobile users into active Nearby users. At the end of 2012, roughly 250 million Facebook users had tagged posts with

location.

Mobile searches are expected to EXCEED desktop searches by 2015.

1. Select ‘Nearby’ from the Facebook menu

2. View businesses and places near your current location

3. Tap ‘Places Nearby’ to search for a specific place or narrow down a category

4. View results based on friends’ likes, check-ins, and recommendations

5. Explore the Facebook page to see the phone number, address, and timeline

6. Read recommendations and see who among your friends has checked in before

LIKE Like the page on the go

CHECK IN Checking in allows a fan

to rate the location

CALL Tapping the call button will allow a fan to contact the

place directly from the app

DIRECTIONS Clicking on the map will give directions from the current location to the destination

WRITE Leave a message

on the page’s wall

SHARE Share a photo on

the page’s wall

READ Look at previous

posts by the page

Recommend Write a

recommendation

Disadvantages: • Cannot search for friends nearby • Information must be updated by the brand and thus could be inconsistent or incorrect • Not yet integrated with Facebook Events or Offers

Advantages: • Deeper search capabilities • Trusted source for comprehensive reviews and ratings VS.

Advantages: • 3 billion check-ins to date • Ability to search for friends nearby • Considers relevancy based on time of day, tips, likes, dislikes, overall popularity, user loyalty to location, and local expertise of top visitors • Integrates Facebook API data to push to your profile and pull back friends’ information

Disadvantage: • Monthly mobile usage is minimal (roughly 7 million users)

Advantage: • Most-used social platform on mobile devices • Currently working with select retailers to offer free wifi for check-ins

Facebook already contains an enormous amount of personal data. Integrating location into Graph Search can provide answers to questions such as “What sushi restaurants have my friends gone to in New York in the last six months and liked?”

Disadvantages : • A smaller audience of 25 million users spend an average of 2+ hours a month on the mobile app

Create a Facebook Page

Claim and merge any

rogue locations

Keep business information

current

Be active on Platform

Facebook fans spend on average 7+ hours a month on Facebook’s mobile app and website. Brands want those users discovering and interacting with their pages. Note that a business must have a Facebook page to guarantee that it will appear on Facebook Nearby.

If you have not already done so, create a Facebook Business page

Claim and merge any rogue locations

Contact Facebook to merge pages that are not the official page

Ensure that all business information is up-to-date

Include: - Phone Number - Address - Operating Hours - Website/E-mail addresses

Post Facebook updates, engage with fans, and encourage fans to check in and leave a recommendation on your page

1. Will Facebook leverage Nearby as a revenue stream?

Although there are currently no ads or paid opportunities for businesses to optimize their search rankings, it is possible that a sponsored location could appear higher among local listings in the future.

2. How can brands boost their search ranking organically? Encourage fans and customers to interact with their page by checking in, tagging friends, liking the page and providing reviews. Each of these actions will be considered in future graph search.

3. Will there be advanced searching capabilities?

Presently, the location search is fairly limited to your current city and select venue category (nightlife, hotels, shopping, etc). As Nearby evolves, it may resemble Yelp or Foursquare, allowing for more robust searches based on rating and personal preferences.