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The wait is over. Facebook has finally released one of its most anticipated features of all time to the public. Known as Places, it is a new application that delivers location-based functionality to the worlds largest social network. Though very similar to Foursquare and other services on the market, the fact that Facebook is behind it means that it could be a bigger deal than anything going today. Here are a few ways small businesses can take advantage:LFfFree Articles Directory | Hostsee.com Create Your PlaceLFfFree Articles Directory | Hostsee.com If you want to leverage Facebook Places, the first thing you need to do is make sure your business location is in the database. If it is not, you can easily add it yourself. Facebook will ask you to verify that you are indeed the owner through phone verification, or requesting documents. Once the Place has been confirmed, your business location will be available for check-ins. From there, you can manage and customize your location by adding an address, business hours, contact information and accessing other administrative settings. LFfFree Articles Directory | Hostsee.com Engage Your FollowersLFfFree Articles Directory | Hostsee.com Places appears to be a valuable tool for marketers, particularly local businesses. There are millions of small businesses on Facebook and many of them have an establishment in their area. While members will use Places to check in and let friends know where they are, you can use it to greet followers, and create custom offers when you know they are paying a visit. You do not hear too many location-based marketing success stories these days, but tools like Place show that the potential is certainly there.LFfFree Articles Directory | Hostsee.com Facebook Advertising LFfFree Articles Directory | Hostsee.com Another opportunity small businesses have for optimizing Facebook Places is through advertising. Once you create a place, you can then advertise just as you would on your fan page. While the current set up will not allow you to target people who check in to your location, you can however, target those who "Like" your Place. According to Facebook, this is made possible by performing a "Page to Place" merge. Even without spending money on advertising, this feature is a great way to get people to visit your business location and share the news with their friends. That in itself gives it tremendous potential as a marketing tool.LFfFree Articles Directory | Hostsee.com The New King of the Location-Based Game?LFfFree Articles Directory | Hostsee.com With the launch of the new service, Facebook has put itself in direct competition with Foursquare, and with all the momentum it has, it would not be surprising to hear Places called the "Foursquare Killer" pretty soon. This feature is new so obviously it is not perfect, but genuine opportunities already exist for small businesses who want to dive into location-based marketing. LFfFree Articles Directory | Hostsee.com The startups on the market have every reason to be concerned, but the launch of Places is without a doubt good news for savvy marketers seeking more exposure. LFfFree Articles Directory | Hostsee.com
Gary San is a best practices activist and advocate for full service email marketing.LFfFree Articles Directory | Hostsee.com
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