PMG Digital Made for Humans

Beacon Me Up, Facebook

3 MINUTE READ | February 13, 2015

Beacon Me Up, Facebook

Author's headshot

David Gong

With PMG since 2012, David Gong has led marketing initiatives at PMG, drawing on his past experience at agencies, publishers, and industry partners.

It has been a couple of weeks since news broke about Facebook’s new Place Tips feature. It is a hugely exciting development, and one we’re surprised that hasn’t generated more buzz around the industry.

Image credit: Facebook

In case you missed it, it’s a new program that delivers information about a business or location in real-time to a mobile user while he or she is physically there. If that sounds a lot like beacon marketing, that’s because it is. However, it’s more than just that.

Let’s illustrate how this can work.

A user walks into a luxury retailer’s store, which is participating in Place Tips. That user’s phone, because she has Bluetooth turned on, will send a signal to the beacon located in the store. That user then, upon opening her Facebook app while in the store, will see information about that store, coming from that store’s Facebook page.

Note: While the program currently does not include advertising, you can bet your bottom dollar it will, and soon.

In addition to Bluetooth and beacons, though, Facebook also plans to use GPS, cellular networks and Wi-Fi to determine a user’s location in locations like New York’s Central Park or other outdoor venues where placing and maintaining a beacon might be a challenge.

Why are we so excited about this? Simply put, this goes a long way towards closing the attribution loop when it comes to online driving to offline. Other solutions exist to tie those together, but given the reach of Facebook, and the growing reliance on its properties in advertisers’ media plans, this will significantly move forward conversations ROI from beacons, as well as mobile marketing overall.

As a marketer, what should you do to plan?

  1. First, read up on beacon marketing. It’s been growing significantly, and some of the challenges typical to a full rollout (app on user’s phone, Bluetooth, beacons) are mitigated greatly by this program.

  2. Revisit your Facebook page. Imagine you’re the consumer who has just walked into your store – is the content on that page what you’d want to see? If not, then figure out how to surface the right type of information to drive action in-store.

  3. Think about how you can best leverage this opportunity. Remember, you’re not limited to just locations with beacons within, but can also target customers in other ways. Also, think about the messaging you’ll want to test in what will inevitably because the advertising roll-out of the program.

Stay in touch

Bringing news to you

Subscribe to our newsletter

By clicking and subscribing, you agree to our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy

This may seem daunting, but this is actually a good thing. As programs like this launch and get better, the better we’ll be able to focus our spend on what truly works and eliminate advertising waste.


Related Content

thumbnail image

Consumer TrendsSocial MediaStreaming & VideoData & TechnologyStrategyDigital MarketingPlatforms & Media

PMG Portfolio Trends: Brands Move to Diversify Social Investments

7 MINUTES READ | November 16, 2021

thumbnail image

SEO & Paid SearchAI & MarketingData & TechnologyB2B MarketingPlatforms & MediaDigital Marketing

Google Performance Max Campaigns Now Available to All Advertisers

4 MINUTES READ | November 2, 2021

thumbnail image

SEO & Paid SearchAI & MarketingData & TechnologyB2B MarketingPlatforms & Media

Google Simplifies Smart Bid Strategies

2 MINUTES READ | April 23, 2021

thumbnail image

SEO & Paid SearchAI & MarketingData & TechnologyB2B MarketingPlatforms & MediaDigital Marketing

Google Paves the Road Ahead for Responsive Search Ads

3 MINUTES READ | February 18, 2021

thumbnail image

Consumer Trends

The Road to Recovery for the Travel Industry

5 MINUTES READ | November 19, 2020

thumbnail image

Consumer TrendsSocial MediaStrategyPlatforms & Media

What to Know About Reddit

5 MINUTES READ | October 1, 2020

thumbnail image

SEO & Paid SearchProgrammatic AdvertisingData & TechnologyStrategyB2B MarketingPlatforms & MediaDigital Marketing

Why Plugins Are a Double-Edged Sword for Marketers

8 MINUTES READ | September 14, 2020

thumbnail image

Consumer TrendsStrategyDigital Marketing

The Five Essential Holiday Season Insights for 2020

7 MINUTES READ | September 8, 2020

thumbnail image

Will Instagram Reels Overtake TikTok?

4 MINUTES READ | August 7, 2020

thumbnail image

Understanding the Recent TikTok Tensions

7 MINUTES READ | July 14, 2020

thumbnail image

How to Advertise to Gamers

7 MINUTES READ | January 28, 2020

ALL POSTS