Facebook Places

2010 Tribal DDB Worldwide


Facebook PlacesSeptember 2010


Contents

•Overview

•Implications for Users

•Implications for Brands

•How Brands Can Use Places

•Setting Up a Places Page

•Brands & Apps Using Places

•Appendix


Location-Based Social Networking

Location-based social networking bridges the gap between the online and offline worlds by allowing users to share their location with others.

In addition to acting as another layer to social networking, some services add a gaming level by

rewarding users with badges or offering incentives

such as discounts for frequent visits.


Location-Based Social Networking

Facebook Places is similar to other

location-based social networks in that

users can check in at a location.

In addition, users can:

• see who is at the same location

• tag friends who are with them

• comment on the place or their activity

Users can check in by using the Facebook iPhone

app or accessing touch.facebook.com via a

mobile device.

Currently, Facebook Places is available in the US,

the UK, and Japan.


Cross-Platform Check Ins

While all developers have access to the Read API

(allowing for the extraction of user data), Facebook

Places is allowing certain services, including Yelp,

Gowalla, and Foursquare, to use the Write API.

The Write API allows these services to push their

own check-ins to Facebook Places.

For example, if a user checks in using a Yelp

mobile app, they will be able to sync that check-in

with Facebook.


Potential Issues

Less than a third of all Americans have smartphones,

which means that the reach of Facebook Places is

currently limited.

However, Nielsen estimates that half of all Americans

will have smartphones by the end of 2011.

Users can see others. They can see who else has

checked in at the same location, even if they are

not friends.

Furthermore, users can tag people who are with

them, even without their explicit permission, unless

those people manually change their settings,

creating potential sharing issues.

Penetration Privacy


Implications for consumers.


A Greater Chance of Serendipity

Facebook developed Places for the purpose of

providing greater utility and exploration to

their users.

By using Facebook Places, people will have the

ability to connect with their friends when they

wouldn’t otherwise have known that they

were nearby.

Through notifications on the newsfeed, Events

Page, and on Places Pages, users are also

exposed to their friends’ favorite Places and can

discover locations they wouldn’t have

normally found.


Mainstream Geo-Location

Facebook Places immediately propels the

functionality and awareness of location-based

social networking into the mainstream.

Since 150mm of Facebook’s 500mm users

access Facebook on their mobile devices,

Places is a natural progression for users.


Implications for Brands


Closing the Gap Between Offline and Online

As Places connects the online world with the

physical world, it also gives a physical products an

online presence.

Sharing favorite Places with friends, Liking a place,

and commenting on a physical location all offer

new touchpoints for brands to share messaging

with consumers.

By providing exclusive content, in-store offers, or

encouragement to check-in, brands can link their

digital experiences to their physical locations.


More Data for Developers

Facebook already provides a variety of data to

applications – the friends a user has, the

communities a person is associated with, and the

Likes its users share.

Now, through the Places Read API, developers can

access check-ins by users’ and their friends,

offering further opportunities for data collection.

Applications will be able to use public data from all

check-ins or specific Places.

Currently, only partners like Yelp, Gowalla, and

Foursquare are able to connect their own check-ins

with Facebook Places via the Write API.


More Customized Recommendations

Using data available through Places, brands can

also make recommendations (or be

recommended) based on user’s interests, previous

Places, and friends.


Location-Based Comments

Fans can now share their opinions on a physical

location on a Facebook Place Page.

Instead of commenting on or complaining about

service on the brand’s Facebook Page, for

example, they can post on the Page of a specific

location.

Brands now have the ability to address issues at

the store regional level, and can monitor clusters of

information to find relevant trends.


How Brands Can Use Places


As a Data Mine About Their Customers

Places offers rich data for brands to extract and

monitor, even if they don’t have a physical

location. Information includes:

• how often users are visiting locations

• where they are going

• what they are saying

• who they are sharing their

location with

This data can also be used to develop new

applications that are based on this information.

In addition, brands can target users based on

what Places they Like and make special offers

based on where they visit most frequently.


As a Partnership Extension

Brands without a physical location can extend their

existing partnerships or develop new ones based

around strategic locations. Partnerships can offer

the brand deeper insights into its customers, new

places for customers to interact with the brand, or

further utility for customers.

Examples include an athletic apparel company

partnering with a retail location, an alcohol brand

partnering with a bar, or a DIY television channel

partnering with a hardware store.


Setting Up a Places Page


Claiming a Business

Brands need to prove that they are official

representatives of the business and must provide

documentation, such as a local business license or

Better Business Bureau accreditation.

Step-by-step instructions available here:

ads.ak.facebook.com/ads/FacebookAds/Places

advertisers.pdf

Facebook has yet to develop a solution for national

brands to claim all their locations under one Page,

but will address the issue in the future.


Establishing a Place Page

Facebook automatically provides a business’

information, but the accuracy is not guaranteed.

Each Page should be checked for accuracy and

completeness of data (description, profile picture,

contact information, store hours).

The Places Page can also be merged to be part

of the brand’s Facebook Page (if applicable), and

should also link to the brand’s website or other

Facebook Pages.


Maintaining a Place Page

The Place Page should be monitored like a

standard Fan Page for open questions and

offensive content.

As with other social media, Places offers a way to

humanize a brand through personal contact.

Accordingly, responding to comments (even with a

simple “thank you”) can further a relationship

between the consumer and the brand.

Similarly, deleting comments because they criticize

a store or the experience can backfire, as

consumers are typically looking for

acknowledgement from the brand.


Promoting a Place Page

As with other brand properties, businesses can use

advertising to drive traffic. Facebook has linked

their advertising capabilities to Places so that

brands can advertise either their Page or their

Place Page.

To increase visibility, businesses can encourage

their own employees to check in.


Brands & Apps Using Places


University of Kentucky

The University of Kentucky installed large statues

of the Places logo around campus to encourage

students to check in. School officials reasoned that

if their students check in, university mentions will

appear on the students’ friends’ walls, prompting

awareness and consideration of the school among

high school prospects.


Topguest

Topguest is an app that acts as an intermediary

between location-based services and brands and

rewards users for checking in.

Topguest currently works with location-based apps

like Places, Foursquare, Twitter, and Yelp, as well

as with brands like Viceroy Hotel Group,

InterContinental Hotels Group, Andre Balazs’

Standard Hotels, and the Soho & Tribeca Grand.


PlacePop

The PlacePop Facebook app allows users to

monitor activity from Places similar to

touch.facebook.com or the iPhone Facebook app.

It also allows users to view:

• their check-in history

• a history of friends’

• Places trending amongst their

friends Places

• graphs of check-ins at specific

Places


SCVNGR

SCVNGR is a game platform that combines gaming

with real-world locations. When a user checks in to a

location (which can be shared via Facebook), they

are given a challenge to complete in exchange

for points.

SCVNGR has worked in the past with the Boston

Globe to create a city wide scavenger hunt, and with

the New England Patriots to get fans to “Find Vince.”


Appendix


Appendix


Appendix


Figures

• There are currently 44 million active monthly users of the Facebook for

iPhone app.

• Only 4% of Americans have used location-based social networking, and only

1% of Americans use it weekly.

• Despite this lack of popularity, Facebook would only need 1% of its user base to engage in Places

to become the leader in the category.

• Interestingly enough, Foursquare saw record daily growth after the announcement of

Facebook Places, with upwards of 20,000 new users signing up in one day.

FacebookForrester Research Location-Based Social Networks: A Hint Of Mobile Engagement Emerges Dennis Crowley


Foursquare vs. Places

Facebook Foursquarea platform for sharing information with friends a social game


Foursquare vs. Places

Facebook Foursquarea platform for sharing information with friends a social game


Location-Based Social Network Cheat Sheet

View Larger:flickr.com/photos/fidelman/4906959650/


Contacts

Thank You

Larissa Hayden [email protected]

Technology

Facebook Places