Facebook may have stared out as a social media platform for university students to connect, but in its 12 year existence, it has become a very effective tool for businesses to advertise and attract customers.
According to The Statistics Portal, as of the fourth quarter of 2015, Facebook had 1.59 billion monthly active users worldwide – a figure proving that Facebook professionals can reach a large audience.
Lately Facebook launched the Facebook Professional Services, which is a directory inside the application for local businesses. The goal is to help users find the services or products they are looking for online with just two search functions.
Facebook enables users to specify which services they are interested in, for example hair salons, and the location where these services can be found. Facebook automatically states the location specified on the user’s personal account, but this can be changed if necessary.
Facebook then displays a list of local businesses providing the specified services within the defined location. The list is accumulated according to the following criteria, as defined by the Social Media Examiner:
- The overall average star rating of the local business
- The number of ratings the local business has received
- The latest reviews the business has received
- The number of check-ins for the local business
- Previous interactions between the local business page and the customer
- Connections between customers and people who check in, rate and review the local business
Now, if you are a business and you want to make sure that the application will include you, make sure you have selected the appropriate category and subcategories for your business on your Facebook page.
It is easy to make sure you choose the category that will get you noticed. Just go to the Facebook Professional Services application and search for the keywords customers would use to find a business and view which keywords Facebook suggests.
Also make sure you have enabled check-ins and start ratings on your page. Give Facebook the tools it needs to introduce you to users when they are looking to use specific services. All that is left then, is for Facebook to show-off your business to the local community.
Sources: The Statistics Portal and Social Media Examiner