After acquiring several geosocial networks, Facebook has launched Nearby, its own local search tool. Personalized search results are influenced by users’ friends’ check-ins, recommendations, and likes. This POV introduces Facebook Nearby and provides supplemental materials covering competitors like Foursquare and Yelp, as well as steps for brand implementation.

2. Facebook Nearby is a local search tool
that aggregates businesses and places.
Results are sorted by users’ friends’
actions (likes, check-ins, and
recommendations).
Presently, this search function is only
available on iOS and Android mobile
devices.
This POV will explain how Nearby
works, how brands should use it, and
what to expect in the future.

3. Facebook is working to convert 543 million Mobile searches are expected to EXCEED
mobile users into active Nearby users. desktop searches by 2015.
At the end of 2012, roughly 250 million
Facebook users had tagged posts with
location.

5. 3. Tap ‘Places Nearby’ to
1. Select ‘Nearby’ from 2. View businesses and places
search for a specific place or
the Facebook menu near your current location
narrow down a category

6. 4. View results based on 5. Explore the Facebook page 6. Read recommendations
friends’ likes, check-ins, and to see the phone number, and see who among your
recommendations address, and timeline friends has checked in before

7. CALL
Tapping the call button will
allow a fan to contact the
LIKE place directly from the app
Like the page on the go
DIRECTIONS
Clicking on the map will give
CHECK IN directions from the current
Checking in allows a fan location to the destination
to rate the location

8. WRITE
SHARE
Leave a message
Share a photo on
on the page’s wall
the page’s wall
Recommend
Write a
READ recommendation
Look at previous
posts by the page

10. Facebook already contains an enormous amount of personal data. Integrating location into
Graph Search can provide answers to questions such as “What sushi restaurants have my
friends gone to in New York in the last six months and liked?”
Advantage: Advantages: Advantages:
• Most-used social platform on • 3 billion check-ins to date • Deeper search capabilities
mobile devices • Ability to search for friends nearby • Trusted source for
• Currently working with select • Considers relevancy based on time comprehensive reviews and
retailers to offer free wifi for
check-ins
VS. of day, tips, likes, dislikes, overall
popularity, user loyalty to location,
ratings
and local expertise of top visitors
• Integrates Facebook API data to Disadvantage:
Disadvantages: push to your profile and pull back • Monthly mobile usage is
• Cannot search for friends friends’ information minimal (roughly 7 million users)
nearby
• Information must be updated
by the brand and thus could be Disadvantages :
inconsistent or incorrect • A smaller audience of 25 million
• Not yet integrated with users spend an average of 2+ hours a
Facebook Events or Offers month on the mobile app

11. Facebook fans spend on average 7+ hours a month on Facebook’s mobile app and
website. Brands want those users discovering and interacting with their pages.
Note that a business must have a Facebook page to guarantee that it will appear on
Facebook Nearby.
Create a Claim and Keep business
Be active on
Facebook Page merge any information
Platform
rogue locations current
Ensure that all
Claim and merge
business
any rogue Post Facebook
information is up-
locations updates, engage
If you have not to-date
with fans, and
already done so,
Include: encourage fans to
create a Facebook
Contact Facebook - Phone Number check in and leave
Business page
to merge pages - Address a recommendation
that are not the - Operating Hours on your page
official page - Website/E-mail
addresses

13. 1. Will Facebook leverage Nearby as a revenue stream?
Although there are currently no ads or paid opportunities for businesses to optimize
their search rankings, it is possible that a sponsored location could appear higher
among local listings in the future.
2. How can brands boost their search ranking organically?
Encourage fans and customers to interact with their page by checking in, tagging
friends, liking the page and providing reviews. Each of these actions will be
considered in future graph search.
3. Will there be advanced searching capabilities?
Presently, the location search is fairly limited to your current city and select venue
category (nightlife, hotels, shopping, etc). As Nearby evolves, it may resemble Yelp
or Foursquare, allowing for more robust searches based on rating and personal
preferences.