But what if you have a restaurant and you want people to know that their friends don’t just “like” your place, but are actually eating there? That’s when that button turns into the  button and boom!…free word of mouth advertising via Facebook (as previously blogged by our founder and lead strategist Jeremy).  If a person has 500 friends and even a few of them have checked into the same place, it lends credence to the awesomeness of your business.

Say I want to check in to your establishment—well, um, it isn’t coming up on a nearby search. Why? Because you’ve got to have a place page for a customer to check in to your business—whether it is a restaurant or a doctor’s office (though probably not many people check into the gyno). It only takes one check-in to make sure you show up in a local search. You need to actually be at the location to create the place page, or have someone do it for you, then you edit the content and upload photos and give it pizazz. This feature works for you in a couple of ways: not only can people see their friends checking in to your place, but if they are nearby and searching for the place at which they want to check in, your listing will pop up as an option when they might not have otherwise known you existed.

Is this your business?

Once one person has “checked-in” and created your listing for you (or you did it yourself), you can go claim it and edit it to your heart’s desire. Then, once you’ve claimed and edited the pages you should merge them and make a giant, amazing super-listing. Then you’ll have all the likes and info from your original page and the check-ins from your place page. The pages can only be merged once you have claimed them as yours, so be sure to follow the claiming process carefully to get verified. You will need a business phone number that Facebook will use to call and verify your business.

I saved the best for last! Facebook has given you a way to give your customers kickbacks in the form of Facebook check-in deals, which are redeemed when a customer “checks in” to your establishment. When a person “searches nearby” for a business, a little yellow ticket will be next to the listing if a check-in deal is offered. Whether it is a free drink or some percentage off a service, you will keep regular customers happy and pique the interest of new customers.

Putting this on your website or even as a flyer in your storefront window will help you gain and keep customers. The first one of these bad boys I saw was taped to the back of a bathroom stall in a restaurant, but it definitely got my attention as a consumer and I checked in right away to get my deal. So make sure your pages and places are one and the same to avoid confusion, then get yourself a check-in deal to reel ‘em in and get yourself some free advertisement. And be sure to send us a link so we can reap the benefits —er, I mean post about your successes!

UPDATE! The Facebook for developer’s page will tell you that you go to Edit profile > Resources > Merge duplicates, but the merge option only shows up once you’ve claimed both pages, are an admin of both of them and the address and phone number match. When you’ve claimed them both you can merge them and Facebook will simply delete the duplicate listing with fewer ‘likes’. Check our page out!

Early to bed, early to rise, work like hell, and advertise. – Laurence J. Peter

That’s one of my favorite quotes to bring up when I am speaking with new entrepreneurs. I love the simplicity and brilliance of that formula and how it reminds us that not only do we need to be good at what we do, but we need a replenishable source of customers if we are to build a successful business.

For companies who have a product that customers are seeking out, there is no better source of those customers than search engine traffic. Google and the other search engines let you bid on keywords and ensure your ad appears in front of searchers looking for your products and services. Advertisers refer to this as demand fulfillment.

But many companies offer innovative products and services that consumers don’t know about; thus, they need to generate demand. TV and print advertising ruled this space for decades but, because of its price, it wasn’t very accessible to small businesses. Still, tens of thousands of enterprises have been built by gutsy entrepreneurs who invested in aggressive advertising.

Why Start With Facebook?

Online, the 300 pound gorilla in the demand generation space is Facebook. In April of 2011, Nielson reported that the average person in the US spent almost 6 and a half hours  on Facebook during the month.

If you’re looking for a cost effective way to generate demand for your business in a measurable way, I would suggest starting with Facebook advertising.

Facebook spells out a straight forward forumla for getting started on its website:
http://www.facebook.com/business/ads/

Plus, they have put together a rich guide on optimizing your ads here:
http://ads.ak.facebook.com/ads/FacebookAds/Optimization_Guide_FINAL.pdf

Pay attention to the ads you see when you use Facebook as well; it’s useful to think about the targeting the advertiser used to get that ad in front of you.

Because you can begin with any budget you choose, I like to recommend Facebook ads to small businesses who are looking for new customers online. Check it out!

Get Free Word of Mouth Advertising with Facebook Places

As we’ve mentioned, we think your business should be paying attention to Facebook, because that is where your customers are spending their time. This is especially true if your business is a physical establishment where people shop, dine, receive services or just hang out.

This is because of the social nature of Facebook Places, which allows any Facebook user to check into their current location and find others nearby. Each time they do, the location—which is often a business—is broadcast to all their friends. That’s free, third-party exposure for that business. Who doesn’t want more of that?

Users can comment on checkins, which can increase their visibility.

Even though the future of places is a little bit uncertain, we still think it’s something your small business should be aware of. It doesn’t take much time to set up, and the exposure can be huge.

First, you need to claim or add your place on Facebook. Once you’ve claimed the place, you can make all the edits you want to the page and add deals and even promote your place on Facebook.

Here are some ideas for promoting your Facebook Page to get the most out of your listing.

• Complete your listing and much as possible, including hours and a photo of your venue or a logo.
• Place signs within your business encouraging users to “check in.” Many bars or restaurants will offer a free beverage or discount if you show your server that you’ve checked in.
• Ask your employees to “check in” each day when they come to work.
• Add an advertising campaign on Facebook for your place. People will see the ad and “like” your place. Again, this action will broadcast your place to all of their friends.
• In the future, you will be able to add deals to your place based on location. This can attract walk-in traffic.

It’s never a good idea to pass on free exposure, especially when it’s so easy to get started. Juicy Results can help you set up your Facebook listing, along with your search engine listings, as part of our Local Juice product. Call us to learn more about it.

It looks like you are already giving special offers to Facebook fans as well as giving fans a sneak peak of new designs. We recommend posting a link to the exact product or collection you are highlighting rather than sending a user to the home page.

Yes! The beauty of the web as a consumer is instant gratification and effortless transactions. When you include a link with a tweet, status update or an email, the assumption of the user is that the link will be the most clear and specific place to go in relation to accompanying text. You may not realize this assumption exists, but it does.

I could undoubtedly cite a number of studies that support the innefectiveness of home page links compared to deep and specific landing pages in advertising, but I think some examples will convey the basic principle much better.

A Bad Example of a Promotional Tweet or Update:
New store hours at all locations: [insert home page link here]

A Better Example of a Promotional Tweet or Update:
All [insert store name] locations open two hours later! [insert link to specific page announcing the change]

An Even Better Example of a Promotional Tweet or Update:
Work late? All [insert store name] locations open two hours later! 10% off during our extended hours this week only: [insert link to specific page announcing the change and terms of the offer]

Notice that we got more specific with each example, and more focused on the benefit of paying attention to the user. By the last tweet, we’ve given the user incentive to remember and act on this information right away.

Let’s check out one more example.

A Bad Example of a Promotional Tweet or Update:
Lasik Surgery from $800 per eye [link to home page of eye center]

A Better Example of a Promotional Tweet or Update:
Wearing glasses to the beach today? Learn how Lasik can change your life: [link to benefits or testimonials about Lasik]

An Even Better Example of a Promotional Tweet or Update
Wearing glasses to the beach today? Never again with our Summer Lasik Special, starting at $800 per eye [insert link to promotion page of the special]

I hope this article will sharpen your social media promotions. Remember the glut of information user’s are experiencing while using Twitter and Facebook, and don’t sabotage your efforts by making them think more than they have to.