Where Are You on Facebook Places? Claim it. Own it. Rock it!

Facebook is one of the most trafficked sites in the world with over 500 million active users (as of July 2010) collectively spending over 700 billion minutes on Facebook each month. Optimize your presence on Facebook by merging your Business Page with your Places Page(s). Claiming your Facebook Places page(s) will ensure all the information provide is accurate and up-to-date, and the claimed Places page(s) will add the following aspects to your Business Page:

• interactive map of your location
• option to get directions to your location
• 'Friends Activity' tab: shows the check-ins at your location
• 'Deals' tab: deals for users who check-in at your location
  
• number of check-ins visible in left column of page

Follow the instructions below to claim your Facebook Places page(s) which will merge with your Facebook Business Page.

Read our previous posts about Facebook:
March 31: Facebook Profiles and Business Pages...So, What's the Difference?
February 25: Why Wait? Upgrade Your Facebook Page TODAY!


How to Claim Your Facebook Places

1. Log in to your Facebook account at Facebook.com.
2. Type in your community’s name in the search engine and select your ‘Places’ listing. If there are too many results or you do not see the appropriate result, click the 'See more results'' link at the bottom of the drop down list. Find and click on your 'Places' listing(s).
3. Click the ‘Is this your business?’ link located near the bottom of the left column.
4. Click on the checkbox in the pop-up box to certify you are a representative of your community, and click the ‘Proceed with Verification’ button.
5. Enter the requested information and click the ‘Submit’ button. I would recommend adding a claimed and updated 3rd party listing (see earlier post for claiming Google Places listing) to possibly help speed up the verification process.
6. Enter either your company email (must include business domain name: example rachel@capturethemarket.com) or a scanned utility or phone bill which includes your business name and business address. Click the checkbox, and click the 'Submit' button.
7. Facebook will review your submitted information, and will email you once the verification is complete.
   

Troubleshooting
This verification process has been known to take up to 6 months. Be patient.

If you do not have a Facebook Places
1. Download the Facebook application on your smart phone and/or log in to the Facebook application.
2. Click on the ‘Places’ icon in the middle of the screen.
3. Click on the ‘Check In’ button in the upper right corner of the screen.
4. Type your community’s name into the search engine.
5. Click on the ‘Add "[Your Community]"’ link.
6. Add a short description about your community.
7. Click the ‘Add’ button in the upper right corner of the screen.



Visit our Facebook Business Page and see the effect of merging your Facebook Places with your Business Page.