Tranter Banter

Last June Facebook announced its newest mobile feature called Nearby.  Originally called “Friendshake” this program was designed  to help users find friends and potential friends who were located nearby.  The very next day Facebook pulled this feature after fears of stalking and privacy issues.

Now Facebook has released a new version of Nearby with a totally new angle.  The new version of Nearby allows users to locate local businesses that are in their area.  The Nearby section is featured on the left-hand menu and allows locations that are favored by friends who have liked, recommended, or checked into certain places.  Categories can then be selected to find all the businesses nearby such as restaurants, hotels, nightlife and more.  Each business listing also shows friends who have checked in as well as other details of the business.  A user can directly “like” the business from this point as well.

Is this beginning to sound like Yelp or Trip Advisor?  You’re right.  Users can also rate the businesses they frequent using a 5-star rating system much like Yelp and Trip Advisor.  These ratings do not provide the same detail as a Yelp or Trip Advisor rating, but with the power of Facebook, it has the potential of becoming just as important.  With over 600 million mobile Facebook users, this program could be huge.

As this program grows, it has the potential to gain more and more in popularity.  Facebook has always been a great site for users and businesses, but with the addition of Nearby, it is more important than ever.

If you have a business page on Facebook, it might be a good time to start ramping up your check-ins with employees and customers.  It could also prove to be beneficial to ask your customers to leave you a rating or a check-in on Nearby.  Make sure your business category is correct in your About Listing.

If you are a Facebook user, the businesses that you frequent would sure appreciate if you took a minute to do the same.

The app feature is available for both Android and iOS.