Facebook Update their Mobile App to Discover New Places with Nearby
Today Facebook announced updates to Nearby, accessed via the Facebook mobile app: now, in addition to showing which friends have checked in at a particular place, Nearby helps people discover places near them based on their friends’ recommendations. People can explore by category (ex: restaurants or hotels); connect to businesses directly from their phone (by liking, checking in, calling, or getting directions); rate the places they visit via a five-star system; and share their recommendations with friends.
If you have a Page on Facebook with a location, your business now has another way to be discovered by Facebook’s 600 million-plus mobile consumers.
When someone looks for a place, the results that appear in their Nearby list are based on things like their friends’ recommendations, ratings, check-ins, and likes. If you’re a business with a physical location, here’s what you can do to ensure your place is more easily discoverable in Nearby:
- Update your Page to include all of your basic information, including your address, store hours, phone number, and details about your business in the About section
- Update your category to make sure you appear when people are looking for your specific type of business
- Encourage your consumers to like, check into, rate, and recommend your place
Find New Places
From the app menu, open the tab to find local spots your friends have recommended, checked into, or liked. If you’re looking for a place to eat, choose a category like Restaurants to see what’s nearby. When you find a place that looks interesting, tap to see info like friends who’ve been there and business hours.
Nearby is available on the Facebook app for both iOS and Android. For more information on Nearby, click here.