How do I add my business to Facebook Places?

For those of you who have missed it, Facebook Places is in its simplest form a way to share where you are with your friends on Facebook.

While previously you typed into your status update “I’m at the Royal Oaks with Fred for a beer” now all you have to do is “check in” to a place using Facebook on your phone. You can also tag your friends when you check in (for those lazy friends, or ones without a smartphone) and write a message.

So what is so great about adding your business?

• It will come up when people try to check in to anywhere nearby (building awareness).
• By people checking in it will appear in their Facebook newsfeed (brand awareness).
• You can add more information about your business to the check in description (eg. website, phone number), so when they check in their phone they find out more about your business instantly.
• If people find you on Facebook on their computer they can get directions to your business – much easier to send them this than the Google map link.

It is not quite as easy as you think it might be (unfortunately) to add your business for maximum benefit. However here’s an easy step-by-step guide on how to do it:

1. You need a smartphone (iPhone, Android, etc) – a phone that has the Facebook app on it. You can also use your iPad.
2. Go to your business place (physical place).
3. Click on “places” which is in the centre of the first screen when you open the Facebook app.
4. Click on “check in” in the top right corner.
5. It will then come up with a list of nearby places, if your business is already listed then great – this will be because someone has already checked into it. If not then click on the + button and put in the name and description of the place and click check in.
6. Next open Facebook on your computer.
7. Search for your business in the top search bar (in my case I called it “Social Rabbit HQ”) it will now appear in the search drop down – click on this.
8. You now have the option to click on edit page (on the right), do this to add more information into the description – see my Social Rabbit HQ below.
9. You also want to click on “is this your business?” at the bottom of the page and fill in the details so that Facebook verifies it as a place (I am not sure how long this takes, I am still waiting, it’s been a week!)

Facebook Places is just another way for people to find out about your business, and to get your business seen. With Foursquare (a similar application that lets you tell people where you are) hitting nearly four million users, Facebook Places looks set to take off, so get onboard and check in!

Lara Solomon is the founder of Mocks, mobile phone socks www.MyMocks.com, founder of Social Rabbit – your guide in the world of social media www.Facebook.com/SocialRabbit and author of ‘Brand New Day – the Highs & Lows of Starting a Small Business’. Lara’s business LaRoo was the winner of the NSW Telstra Micro-Business Award in 2008.