This post has been updated as of February 25, 2018
When we started thinking about what we wanted to do next, we asked ourselves, where do we spend the most time?
The first answer is, of course, physical places — like our home, work, and favorite local spots. But the second is on 3rd-party services or owned media — like Facebook. And when we layer the two…we get digitaldestinations of those physical places. And at Yext, we love to check-in, comment, post photos, and more online, from our favorite spots.
Facebook Matters, Especially for Local.
Today, Facebook is one of the most frequented online destinations for local information. Its 1.4 B daily active users worldwide are highly engaged, checking into locations, seeing where their friends have been, looking up events in their area, searching for deals and menu information for their favorite spots, and even booking appointments and making reservations.
Facebook is important for local search because it's so closely tied to mobile usage too. Out of the 5 hours US consumers spend on their mobile phones each day, 19% of that time is sent on Facebook. That's because it's an ideal place to connect with people and find things to do when they are on-the-go. And with its products, like Nearby and Graph Search, Facebook is getting more local every day.
By now, it should be clear that controlling your digital knowledge on Facebook is critical to capturing local business. And with Yext, you can do exactly that.
Sync Yext and Facebook to Boost Discoverability
Facebook populates its local search results with location Pages from businesses. It also populates search results with location Pages that users may have created on their own.
Have you ever tried to check into a business on Facebook and noticed that there was more than one option for that location? Yes, it's that easy for a user to accidentally create rogue brand pages! All it takes is a few typos when checking in.
Even if you haven't built Pages for your locations, chances are, they exist. But with Yext's software, you can easily control and manage Facebook location Pages for your business.
Control your Facebook Pages with Yext
Update the facts about your business on Facebook. Select which fields to sync from your Yext account and choose the sections you want to manage separately (and word differently) in Facebook.
Add your category, business descriptions, hours and more. Your customers come to your Facebook Page to learn more about you, so tell them what makes your business unique.
Share the latest photos of your business. Your business isn't static! Showcase the latest and greatest visuals you have available to entice customers.
Enhance your pages with rich content. Help your location Pages stand out with rich content lists — like menus, product and service offerings, events, and staff bios — that give consumers the details they need to choose your business.
Drive more consumers to take action with Facebook Calls-to-Action. Use the digital knowledge you already store in Yext — from your phone number, booking URLs, promotional landing pages, and more — to add calls-to-action, like Call Now, Book Now, Shop Now, and more to your Pages.
Monitor and respond to reviews from one place. Get a bird's eye view of customer reviews across your location Pages and respond to them directly from Yext — where you're managing all of your other facts!
Re-post reviews from across the web on your Facebook Page. Help potential customers understand what it's like to do business with you by posting customer reviews made on other sites to your Facebook Page.
Track Likes, Check-ins, and more. With Yext Analytics, you can monitor engagement metrics like 'Were Here' and "Talking About' to help you optimize your social strategy. And if you have more than one Page, you can monitor metrics from them all in one place – including "Likes" across all your location Pages.
We've seen that Pages with fresh content and information get higher levels of engagement, which will ultimately impact search result ranking.
Syncing Yext with Facebook takes minutes to get set up. Contact your Yext representative today or visit our help center to start controlling your digital knowledge on Facebook.
