Facebook Places

2010 Tribal DDB Worldwide
Facebook Places
September 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

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.
Facebook
Forrester Research Location-Based Social Networks:
A Hint Of Mobile Engagement Emerges
Dennis Crowley

Foursquare vs. Places
Facebook Foursquare
a 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
larissa.hayden@ny.tribalddb.com
212-515-8335

Facebook Places

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