NiftyCon - Exclusive Legal Marketing Conference: Sept 18-20, 2024. Learn More

How To Claim Your Facebook Places Page

With all of the hot talk surrounding the announcement that Facebook is now doing check-ins I thought it would be interesting to see the process to claiming your business listing. So, sit back enjoy the snapshots and get ready to start marketing your new check in opportunities.

Step 1 – Update your iPhone Facebook App and push the button…you know you want to.

As you can see there is now a quite nicely designed “Places” button in the middle of the screen. I am no rocket scientist but I would think that they might be trying to promote this as the button to push (Don’t focus on the 16 messages in my inbox, you should see my gmail account).

Step 2 – See which of your friends got here first and click the Check In button in the top right.

I couldn’t decide if I should blur my friends names out or not so I thought to myself “Would they blur me?” and the answer came back a big no so I decided against it. Anyways, as you can see in the top right hand corner there is a check in button. If you want to check in, click the button….rocket science.

Step 3 – Find your Business or click the little + symbol to  “Add New”.

Unless your Steve Jobs and one of your employees has already added your business location, then chances are you are going to have to add your business. So, with GPS on you simply type your Business Name and give a short description….did I mention rocket science?

Step 4- The Tricky Part: Type your company name in the search box.

Yes, you have to get on a normal computer to do this part. As you can see I have my actual Facebook Page, and below it I have my Facebook Places Page. Go ahead and choose the option for your places page.

Step 5- Claim Your Page

Right down at the bottom you will notice an “is this your business?” link. Why these companies just don’t say, “Hey, This link is where you claim your freakin listing” is beyond me. When I create a business listing website worth billions I will do things my way.  Click the link.

Step 6- Turn Over everything about your company possible to prove that it’s really your company.

Now I am not going to lie. As a Local SEO Expert I have claimed a bagillion listings. But Claiming a listing by having to provide a copy of articles of Certificate of Incorporation is possibly a bit over the top compared to a usual phone verification (I heard this was an option but it wasn’t for me). Once you fill out the information you are set and should see something that looks like this.

I guess that means I now sit and wait for a verification. UPDATE: Once your verification comes you have the option to merge it to your existing page. Seems the totally long way around it.

Conclusion

The only thing that didn’t make much since is why my other facebook business page didn’t show up when I tried to check in.  It seems like all fan pages should already be found in the system so people don’t have to add it themselves.

Over all it is an easy process but many business owners aren’t going to take this path as they might not have an iPhone, or a phone with internet, or a copy of their business birth certificate with in a hands reach. While the amount of spammed listings will diminish I still think this is a bit over the top and hope that this will change over time.