As people continue to use their phones everywhere and all the time—including while they shop and dine—there’s an opportunity for businesses to connect with customers online while they are in store. So earlier this year we started testing Place Tips, an optional Facebook feature that helps people learn about and connect with the places they visit, including businesses. Since we started our test, local businesses that have tried Place Tips have seen a steady uptick in Page traffic from in-store visitors. Today we’re sharing details on how more businesses can get started with Place Tips.

Place Tips gather useful information about a business or landmark—like posts from the business’ Page, upcoming events and friends’ recommendations and check-ins—and show it at the top of News Feed to in-store visitors.

Each person’s Place Tips are unique. At a restaurant, Place Tips can show the menu, reviews and frequently mentioned information about the establishment, like a signature cocktail or popular table. Place Tips for a retail store can help customers find business hours, locate popular items and learn about upcoming events.

“We love that someone can come into our store and check Place Tips on their phone to see that a friend of theirs has checked in here and posted photos, or even that there’s an in-store event coming up soon. Place Tips gives us a new way to connect with our customers and get our Facebook Page content in front of the people who visit us. We’ve seen some promising early results to that end.” - Briannne Sperber, Director of Marketing, Strand Book Store

“Our guests are very active on social media and often reach out to us on Facebook. We see any additional way we can communicate with them, like Place Tips, as an added plus to developing a dialogue.” - Dominique Ansel, Chef, Dominque Ansel Bakery

Place Tips are shown to people who are in store and who have given Facebook permission to access their location on their phone. They’re also shown to people who check in to the business on Facebook. Because Place Tips are personalized and designed to be useful, we only show them when there is enough content from the business and a person’s friends to offer an enjoyable experience.

The most reliable way for businesses to serve Place Tips is with a Facebook Bluetooth® beacon, a device businesses request from Facebook. Beacons use Bluetooth to send a signal to the Facebook app on customers’ phones to show them the right Place Tips at the right place.

We’re now providing free beacons to more businesses in the US. Because Place Tips are meant to offer people useful and interesting information about the places they visit, we’re prioritizing beacons for businesses with active Pages full of content—such as photos, check-ins and status updates—from both the business and its customers. To help ensure your customers see Place Tips at your business, request a beacon today.