Optimizing Facebook Pages for "Nearby" Mobile Users

Louise Armstrong
by Louise Armstrong on May 1, 2013 in Visibility
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facebook nearbyMobile devices, such as smartphones and tablets, are well on their way to becoming the primary portals into the online world. This is particularly true for social media sites like Facebook, which encourage people to check in wherever they go, share photos at social events and generally comment on everything they do.

This opens up some intriguing possibilities for marketers. You can now reach people with your online message when they are physically nearby or are out shopping for products or services.

Facebook's "Nearby" mobile app is designed to do exactly that. It allows users to search for businesses that are near their current location. For your company to appear--and appear favorably--in such searches, you will need to optimize your Facebook page for the Nearby app.

How Nearby Search Works
Facebook Nearby returns search results based on:

  • Proximity. It looks for businesses near the user's location. If people wish to search a different part of town, such as where they are going to be later on, they can choose a different part of the map to search.
  • Relevance. Users can filter Nearby results based on the category or type of business.
  • Network recommendations. Searches are personalized based on the user's friends and their interactions with your business page. If few friends have liked or checked in to your location, you will not rank highly in the results.
Optimizing for Nearby
Based on those factors, you can improve your placement in the search results by:
  • Making sure you have a place page. You need to have a Facebook page that is set up as a local business, and which includes your physical address. Otherwise, you will not even appear in Nearby searches.
  • Choosing the right category. Make sure your company is listed in the category or sub-categories that people would choose when looking for your products or services.
  • Filling in all the details. You will want to list your phone number and hours of operation, for instance, and fill out a description that includes the keywords that people would be looking for. 
  • Getting more likes, check-ins and positive recommendations. This is the big one when it comes to optimizing for Facebook Nearby. Before you can attract new customers through the application, you need your current customers to "like" you (in both senses of the word). And you particularly want people to "check in" at your location, and either rate your business (on the app's five-star scale) or write a recommendation for it. Such check-ins and comments require a higher level of interaction with your company, and are thus weighted more heavily by Facebook's various algorithms. 

So how do you get more customer interactions with your Facebook page? As with all social media interactions, you are more likely to get people to engage if you ask them to. Encourage people to check in and rate your business. You can also offer incentives, such as a special discount if they show that they have checked in during their visit. 

These same steps will also help with your Graph Search rankings and News Feed placement, so they are well worth the effort. And they can help you turn Facebook into a real tool for growing your business.

*Image courtesy of freedigitalphotos.net

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Louise Armstrong

Louise Armstrong

Louise is a Senior Digital Strategist at Bonafide. A pop-culture addict with a passion for all things digital. She's Scottish by birth, but don't ask if she likes haggis...