Agency Bonus: Facebook Revamps ‘Places,’ Embeds Tag Strategy

Judging from some of the headlines earlier this week, Facebook was phasing out its mobile “Places” check-in feature and conceding the location-based marketing battle to sites like Foursquare and Gowalla.

But Facebook and a number of ad executives who have quizzed the social network about its plans say it’s just not the case.

In fact, agencies say that what Facebook is actually doing in the space may scale their location-based marketing capability in a way that could motivate a majority of their 500 million global members to add location data when using the site. That would exponentially boost the amount of spending marketers do in the location-based marketing sector.

No doubt there was a lot of confusion in the first couple of days after reports that Facebook was killing off its “Places” feature. Marketers and the agencies were scrambling frantically to find out what impact — if any — the changes would have on current campaigns.

“There was a lot of concern about the short-term impact because of the investments and marketing objectives now in place,” said Jordan Bitterman, senior vice president, media marketing and content for Publicis Groupe’s Digitas. For now, “we’re told nothing changes,” and that current campaigns can proceed apace without alterations.

Essentially, what’s changing is that location functionality is being integrated throughout the Facebook offering — so that members can, for example, tag their location when they update their status, whether they’re on a laptop, phone or any other portable device. And regardless of where they are — a store, Central Park or the Golden Gate Bridge.

“This is not a retreat in any way,” said Michael Nicholas, chief strategy officer at Aegis Group’s Isobar. Rather, the move is essentially an “embedded tag strategy that’s about getting more people to put more location data into Facebook.” Instead of a single mobile feature where users have to manually check-in, he added,
“they’re putting location into everything.”

If successful, the new strategy could dramatically elevate the investments that marketers make in location-based services, he said.

“If this thing scales, it will be enormously valuable to marketers,” he said. “It superpowers the kind of localized Facebook search,” especially when combined with incentive deals, coupons and other approaches.

From a marketing perspective, the change in strategy is overdue, given Facebook’s lack of location data, added Nicholas. “Right now, Facebook has a global location platform where it doesn’t really know where anyone is.”

Chris Wallace, associate media director at Resolution, agreed that the changes should be a big plus for marketers. “My prediction is that consumers will respond well to it,” he said. “The check-in piece of it was a reaction from Facebook to Foursquare and Gowalla, and now Facebook is going a step further and adding Places to every piece of functionality. So you won’t have to go to a different app or a different section of the Facebook application. You can have your location anywhere you want and do it all in one place.”

Also, marketers will get more data and a clearer picture of what consumers are thinking about them, Wallace added. “And not just in-store interaction, but what they’re saying after a visit or who might be planning to go to your store tomorrow. What they’re doing in many ways is moving toward the Google model,” he said.

A Facebook rep added that while the mobile-only “Places” feature is being phased out, “the way we think about location will continue to evolve. People will be able to continue to tell their friends where they are. Now a “Place” becomes another descriptor to add to any post. It can be a place you are, have been, want to go, or just want to talk about. It was already possible to talk about location in this way on Facebook by tagging Place Pages from the Web. We’ve expanded this functionality.”

In effect, adds Bitterman, “Facebook is playing a game of leapfrog where they’re skipping over the manual check-in in favor of an automatic check-in,” — albeit one where members opt in.

“Checking in is kind of laborious, and why would I do that if I could just have my phone do it for me?” he said. The more user-friendly the functionality is, the greater likelihood more people will use it, he added. “Ease of use equals scaled participation.”

Bitterman believes the Facebook move is just the latest move in an escalating battle among platforms looking to improve their competitive position in the space. “In the next 18 months, we’ll probably see a rapid expansion of location-based marketing,” as competitors like Foursquare respond quickly with innovations of their own, he said.

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RU media savvy?

Bruce Newman

The person buying shoes is urged to follow the shoe store on Twitter and Facebook; even the receipt has a reminder. Ditto the clothes store. Even Purina One dog food has a Twitter page.

In terms of the historic marketplace, these changes have come in a nanosecond, begging the question: Do they work? Are businesses gleaning results?

Some minds seem predisposed to social media, imparting and gleaning volumes from the blasts, updates and consonants that stand for entire words. But for many, the drumbeat is too new to be anything but syncopation.

Tim Mullane

How is the social media world translating to the marketplace in August 2011? Two media professionals weigh in: Bruce Newman is vice president of the Productivity Institute L.L.C. based in Carmel who writes, blogs and posts about social networking including for HV Biz; and Tim Mullane is the tristate regional vice president for Robert Half Technology, an international consultancy and staffing firm that reports 46 percent of marketing executives now use Facebook professionally.

 

Social media like Facebook and Twitter have gone from unknown to ubiquitous in just a few years. Are they bringing in dollars-and-cents results or are results in the hoped-for arena?

NEWMAN: “Not directly. That’s not the nature of social media. Social media is designed more to generate buzz and attention. However, this is a two-edged sword. Yes, an increasing number of companies are using social media … but how many of them are actually standing out because of it?  Not many. Think back to the 1990s when companies would just build websites on the expectation, ‘If they build it, people will come.’ Same scenario, just a few years later. To be able to stand out requires the use of an effective strategy, usually across several social media platforms.”

MULLANE: “While advertising creates tangible revenue, utilizing social media helps to create brand awareness and give organizations, as well as individuals within them, a voice and a chance to network and engage the public. Businesses are learning that social networking, when used properly, can be an effective business tool. In fact, many companies are using Facebook and Twitter for marketing, customer service and recruitment purposes.”

 

Are social media sites a fad – the Pet Rock of the 21^st century – with the potential to go the way of all Hula Hoops? If not a fad, what gives social media the potential to last?

NEWMAN: “No. Social media is here to stay. The question is in what form is it evolving to? Will it be based on geographic location, coupons, meetings or something more esoteric such as group purchasing on a website? No one knows.”

MULLANE: “There’s no sign that the popularity of social networking sites is waning. In fact, a recent survey by The Creative Group found that 56 percent of creative executives expect to implement the use of more social media in the workplace within the next three years. In the creative sector in particular, online social networking is widely popular. It is an effective way to communicate more intimately with clients and consumers, so long as it’s done professionally.”

 

Is there a risk of overload? Can a single business overdo its social outreach? Is there a worry the public will say, “I can’t take it any more,” and come to dislike your company? Or is there an expectation the public is its own best filter? 

NEWMAN: “Anything can be overdone. We are constantly debating how often to send out a newsletter, an announcement, etc. The goal is to stay in front of people without becoming a nuisance. If you do overreach this somewhat arbitrary and variable level, people will not hesitate to drop you from their contacts. This is the big fear of many marketers because once people do drop you, it is very unlikely they will follow you again. People have very little tolerance in social media.”

MULLANE: “There are many social media networks available, whether it is Facebook, Twitter or Google+, and companies need to find the best tool and appropriate volume to suit their needs. Companies are using social media to expand their networks and showcase their industry experience. To maximize your social media network, companies and individuals want to share nuggets of useful information with their contacts and offer advice when they ask for recommendations or ideas. It is also important to be generous with your contacts by offering to make introductions or sharing useful information they post with your own network. It’s important to remember to never say anything disparaging about your current or former company, coworkers, clients or other business contacts. You never know who might see your comments and forward them on.”

 

A business person age 55 and over likely considers him- or herself a person of substance. Is there a “shallow factor” with social media. The village hamburger stand is one thing, should my surgeon or my tax attorney tweet about business?

NEWMAN: “They can, but only to a point. It’s important to remember, that once something hits the Internet, it’s there forever. We use the commercials on television that exclaim, ‘What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas,’ as a humorous example of naiveté and false marketing. Always assume that there’s no privacy online. It’s legitimate for your tax attorney to tweet or discuss some arcane tax law. Professional discussions could be very informative. Extending this discussion to a client’s situation – even if still anonymous – could have serious ramifications.

“One area that needs to be addressed is the area of privacy – an area that Facebook repeatedly gives short shrift to. I expect these privacy issues to become a much larger issue in the next year or two. In one sense, they already have if you consider the escapades of News Corp. And, this is just the beginning. The legal industry lags well behind technology. It has yet to catch up with social media.”

MULLANE: “Not everyone in your social network needs to know about your Friday dinner plans or musings on the latest blockbuster movie. Segment your friend lists so professional contacts aren’t inundated with updates they wouldn’t want to – or shouldn’t – see. Also check your privacy settings to control who has access to what information.”

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