Slightly more than a month old, Facebook Places appears to be making an impact on geo-location advertising in at least two ways: one, by raising awareness of the service among consumers and two by encouraging marketers to try out what is decidedly still a niche form of advertising.
The rumors surrounding a Facebook phone, or device branded by Facebook but manufactured by a third party - rumors that Facebook has denied - have also done their share of stoking interest in geo-location advertising, especially via Facebook.
Still, though, the service - like the technology - is in its early days. What shape it will eventually take - and whether it will be long-lived - are still open questions. The early indications, though, are positive. One-third of a 1,000 survey polled this month reported being aware of Places, according to a survey by AskYourTargetMarket.com that was provided to USA Today. Of those, half said it is the first check-in app of which they had heard.
Creative Campaigns
At the same time brands have been trying out the service, resulting in some interesting campaigns. Nike used Facebook Places for its Destroyer Burrito campaign - Nike Sportswear Destroyer Jackets packed in foil - that the sports apparel company gave away to fans that checked into a Portland-based Korean taco truck. There other, more creative possibilities as well, writes Inside Facebook. For example, a company could use Facebook’s public friend lists and check-ins to track referrals in a social circle and give a discount to someone who got a number of friends to check in.
Another possibility, InsideFacebook says, is an offer modeled on Yelp's Nearby Offers, where a Facebook user who checks into a business, also receives offers from close by businesses.
By the Day and Hour
But as brands embrace geo-location ad campaigns, they should not ignore what has been proven to be popular among consumers on Facebook - coupons and other straightforward offers. With 500 million users now, a considerable knowledge store has developed about what they like and how they like to be contacted – down to the day, and hour. A recent report by Vitrue, for example finds that Friday is a popular day for Facebook coupon hunters, Friday gets the most engagement per fan than Sunday with 64% more shares likes and comments. Friday is only 7% more effective than Monday and 3% more than Tuesday and Thursday.
If you are a CPG company though, Thursday is definitely the day to send a coupon as it is 136% more effective than Wednesday, 51% more than Sunday and 18% more than Saturday.
A Quick Serve Restaurant, by contrast, will find that Wednesday is 34% more effective than Sunday and 156% more effective than Saturday and 147% more effective than Tuesday. Also posts made before non get 65% more engagement.
