Foursquare or Facebook Places – Which is best for Real Estate use?
Foursquare or Facebook Places – Which is best for Real Estate use?
With well over 500 million people on Facebook on any given day, it only makes sense to use their features whenever or wherever possible – but should that include Facebook Places?
Facebook Places is Facebook’s newest feature which will bring location-based uses to the network and give you yet another tool for bringing your Real Estate business (and location, location, location) in front of a very wide audience.
There are a couple of other existing social networks (such as Foursquare) that utilize this location based feature. The users share their locations by going to a business and “checking in.” This allows them to earn points that they can use for many things as a thank you for their support of this business. Facebook Places for real estate has a feature called ‘People Here Now’ that will allow you to see anybody that has recently checked into your location.
The official representative of the business is the only one who claim the Place. Users may be asked to upload a local business license or a Better Business Bureau accreditation for proof that they own this business. Once you have claimed the Place and given Facebook your business they will add it to the Places page. You can also post updates to your business as well as to those who like your page.
Here’s where the important part of Facebook Pages for real estate use comes in. It’s not so much about creating your stamp of owning that Place of business – it’s what happens after, that will make your mark either stand out from the crowd or look like a sore thumb!
In otherwords, the review/peer conversations that will take place about your business after check in will be what matters the most. With word of mouth transforming to “world” of mouth by the millisecond, your reputation is more at stake than ever before. Social media and networking, including Facebook Places, has the capacity to take your business’ professional image to an all-time high or a drastically embarrasing low.
There are a few ways to help promote your checked-in Place, such as asking your past clients to give you the two thumbs up. Receiving testimonials and references from your sphere is a MUST (if it wasn’t already)!
During one of the dozens of interviews Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Facebook, recently held about Facebook Places, he stressed this feature is not a way of sharing where you are with the rest of the world, but more about sharing places you find with friends and others. If you want to control who sees your check-ins you can go to the ‘Places I Check In’ and change the settings to only include the people you want to view your check-ins.
QUICK TIP: When you set up your own Facebook Place (via your iPhone, Droid or similar smart phone), be strategic in the way you name your “place”. Don’t just put, “Keller Williams Office”. Add your name, your office name and your contact information. Make it yours!
Here’s a word of warning – other people can “Check You In” on your behalf, unless you change your security settings – I think if you put your mind to it, you could easily imagine how other people checking you in at places you may not want the world to associate you with, could be detrimental to your professional image!
So, should you stick with Foursquare or take the plunge with Facebook Places for real estate use? Well, through the numerous questions we have asked and polls that I’ve read, I see that Foursquare is taking the lead – at the moment anyway. However, should Facebook really take off (!) they may be onto something more than what meets the eye and it may be wise to consider its future uses… Facebook may be up to something we’re not yet aware of.
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Interesting take on it. Looking forward to see how this translates to success in real estate. I still have issues/concerns with the privacy side of it, but geomarketing can become huge soon.
Do you think Yelp will also grow in this field that is getting crowded with more and more people checking in?
Can I ask how you did the cool quotes image? I’m subscribed to your blog and read it from my email program, but wanted to visit and see where that cool quote generating image tool can be found.
Foursquare is still tops. Isn’t the Facebook places only for those with an iphone?
Hey Joe – I actually create those quote images myself! I take a short blurb from the article and create it in Photoshop.
With regard to FB Places, yes, it is a smartphone app only – but can be used on Droids too.
I use foursquare but mostly for personal use not sure how to make it effective for real estate. Any ideas?
It will be interesting to see how this “battle” evolves in the US market. In Australia very few real estate agents would even be aware of Foursquare (penetration overall here is still low). So it may be that Facebook Places is more palatable for the real estate market here, when we finally get the roll out.
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