Why Facebook Places is going places

Rob Salmon

If I was to ask you who the Mayor of your town or city is, would you answer with a resounding Churchill like 'oh yes' or a game show inspired 'I'm sorry, I haven't a clue'?

For me it would be the latter. I know the mayor has a big black car and fancy robes. But I have no idea who he or she is.

And that lack of awareness is how I have felt as a mayor or former mayor of various places on Foursquare – the location-based social networking site that allows users to earn points and badges for checking in at venues. If you check in more times over a 60-day period than anyone else, you become the mayor of the venue.

At one point, I was mayor of my local pub, park, church and hospital.

I've got 32 friends on Foursquare from work and far flung places who may have been aware of this, but none of the friends who I see regularly had any idea about my mayoral prowess because they weren't using Foursquare.

They do however all use Facebook. And the majority still use it regularly.

That is why I find Facebook's launch of Facebook Places in the USA and imminent roll-out in the UK exciting. It is quickly going to bring location-based services to a mass market.

Playing around with your mobile and updating people on Facebook when you're out and about is a natural part of going out. So will people take the little bit of extra trouble to check in on Facebook Places and say where they are, who they're with and what they're doing? I think so. And you certainly won't miss the Places icon on the Facebook iPhone app as it is right in the middle of the navigation screen. Facebook are giving it centre stage.

As you'd expect, some people have raised privacy concerns, but I don't think this will stop it becoming huge quickly.

In terms of Foursquare, it remains to be seen what effect Facebook Places will have. The day after places was launched in the US, Fourquare claimed to have had it's busiest sign-up day ever and it has announced it has now reached 3 million users. This number is bound to be dwarfed by Facebook before long as its 500+ million users start to use Places. Foursquare does, however, currently have things Places does not – the game play, the badges, the ability to become mayor and perhaps this is what they really need to focus on becoming famous for in a mainstream way.

Brands in the UK have used Foursquare as a way of driving PR stories and to show they are forward-thinking organisations. Early adoption has certainly driven headlines for the likes of Domino's Pizza. I would be interested to know if it has driven business – there is currently no mayor at my local outlet despite the fact that a free pizza is up for grabs every Wednesday to the mayor.

However, if I worked for a brand, organisation or charity that had venues or shops, I would definitely look into Facebook Places, how it works and what opportunities there are. Early adopters will be able to drive PR headlines but it also has the potential to drive interactions with and insight from the people who visit your destinations.

Facebook Places is definitely going places and you may as well take a look to see if it is worth jumping onboard to help you reach your objectives.

For a guide to Facebook Places for Businesses and Advertisers, please visit: www.scribd.com/doc/36689817/Facebook-Places-Guide-for-Businesses-Advertisers.

Rob Salmon is the Director of Digital Marketing at Torchbox. Follow Rob on Twitter.