Facebook’s standalone Events app, used to find out about local events, has gotten a big update. So big that the social media giant has fully rebranded the app with the goal to provide more opportunities to discover local happenings. The old Events app was focused solely on events happening around you, but with this new relaunch called Local, you are able to expand your search desires. You can now use Facebook Local to find local events, find bars, restaurants, and other local businesses.
Facebook’s goal with Local is for it to become the new destination for planning a night out with friends and family as you can search for events and places nearby whether you are in your hometown or in a different city. After finding an event or place that interests you, you can add it to the in-app calendar. This goal and new app make for perfect competition for services such as Yelp, TripAdvisor, Bandsintown, Foursquare, etc. However, Facebook Local has a huge competitive advantage compared to these services due to the fact that there is an abundance of business pages and event listings. In addition, Local also is integrated into the worlds largest social media platform. Allowing you to see what friends are up to and receive recommendations.
How Marketers Can Thrive
If Facebook Local becomes a huge success with the Facebook and mobile population, then marketer will have to enhance their Facebook game. For local businesses, be sure to update your page as much as possible and make as many event pages as possible. The more event pages you have, the more likely you will be found within Facebook Local which will generate more traffic to your website while broadening your brand awareness. Be sure to make event pages for sales, launching new products, hosting events, almost any big update you are aiming to be found should have an event page.
Facebook Local is now available in app stores for both iPhones and Androids.