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The FB Merges Pages with Places Uproar.

by Vanessa Reece
8 replies
Has anyone had any experience with their offline clients merging FB pages with places?

I agree merging looks horrible and takes a lot of interactivity benefits out of having a page.

I think people are most irked because there is no way to un-merge.

Do Not Merge Your Facebook Places and Business Page | Arnold Tijerina | DrivingSales

Unmerge Places & My Business Page | Facebook

I personally haven't had any experience with this so I'm putting it out there for the more learned amongst you.

If this topic is somewhere else please point me to it.

Thanks

V
#merges #pages #places #uproar
  • Profile picture of the author Vanessa Reece
    No one uses FB places for their offline clients?
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  • Profile picture of the author www_retireonme_com
    Are you suggesting , that in the Google Places 'setup' instead of listing a website, they are using a Facebook Fanpage url?
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    Solving Multimedia Expectations. AppleCreekMedia

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    • Profile picture of the author Vanessa Reece
      Originally Posted by www_retireonme_com View Post

      Are you suggesting , that in the Google Places 'setup' instead of listing a website, they are using a Facebook Fanpage url?
      I don't know much about this to be honest since I've never used GP for myself or anyone else.

      But it appears that FB asks people with both FB places and pages in use to merge the two. What happens then is they are left with a poor man's page with difficultly in interacting with their fans, no custom fbml welcome (which they may have installed) and well...you can read some of the reactions.

      I had no idea this was going on until I did some research regarding places in general.

      I mention it here because some people are using FB places and pages for their clients - and in some cases they may let their clients update things. IF FB asks them to merge the two they may do so without knowing the ramifications, and once merged you can not 'un-merge' which is why people are so angry - that and the fact their pages have been reduced to a very dull hard to interact with listing.

      I must admit post merge the pages are really ugly and look like a glorified directory listing. Not cool if you want to build a fan base around a business.

      Go check out the links...

      V
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  • Profile picture of the author deus ex
    It does help with more optimization tactics....and it's a great way to merge consumer data for FB. I understand the logic, I'm unsure as to if it will help market companies and their respective sites...
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    • Profile picture of the author Vanessa Reece
      Originally Posted by deus ex View Post

      It does help with more optimization tactics....and it's a great way to merge consumer data for FB. I understand the logic, I'm unsure as to if it will help market companies and their respective sites...

      I think the whole point of pages is that businesses can have a lot of scope to build customization thus the ability to make it more fan enticing. Heck, there are people on here who customize FB pages for a living or as part of their consultancy package. Imagine getting the call from the client saying, 'Where has my welcome page gone? What's happend to my page? I only pressed 'merge' - Help' Potential headaches for consultants? :confused:

      If you can welcome fans on your page and entice them to 'like' with a coupon, offer or a nice custom intro the merging with FB places kills the 'unique' factor of ones page. When you merge places and pages you get a default info page and the intuitiveness of fan interaction is gone.

      I was intrigued when I found out about this - and how businesses have suffered because of it.

      I just wanted some feedback really because honestly I thought I was dreaming when I read it all.

      V
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  • Profile picture of the author Steve Solem
    Thanks for mentioning this V!

    I wasn't aware of any of this and I'm still pretty clueless after researching some, but it sure seems like a bad move for any business with a regular page.

    Can you tell me - how does one create a "Place" page? The only info I could find was related to regular FB users interacting with place pages and even on FB itself, I don't see any mention of how one could merge a page with a place.

    All the best,

    Steve
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    • Profile picture of the author Vanessa Reece
      Originally Posted by Steve Solem View Post

      Thanks for mentioning this V!

      I wasn't aware of any of this and I'm still pretty clueless after researching some, but it sure seems like a bad move for any business with a regular page.

      Can you tell me - how does one create a "Place" page? The only info I could find was related to regular FB users interacting with place pages and even on FB itself, I don't see any mention of how one could merge a page with a place.

      All the best,

      Steve
      Hey Steve,

      No problem for the mention of it. It's good to share.

      Okay to you submit to FB places via their official link here Facebook Places | Facebook

      If you set up on places and happen to have an FB fan page as well at some point (and I'm not sure when it happens) FB throws up an alert of some kind asking you if you want to merge both your places page and your normal fan page.

      Unknowingly people have innocently clicked yes. They've then found out that the merge has not been the best move to make since they no longer have the functionality and flow of their fan page. Again, the comments here speak for themselves Unmerge Places & My Business Page | Facebook

      I would say that if you have clients who work their own places and fan pages that you have set up you explain the pros and cons of merging.

      V
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  • Profile picture of the author mclpro
    So it ends up becoming a choice between whether you really want to optimize for location or not through facebook.

    LBS have caused more difficulty than good so far.
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    Dan Verhaeghe
    Marketing Specialist
    McLoughlin Promotions
    http://www.mcloughlin.ca/insights
     http://www.twitter.com/mclpro

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