In what seems like a direct attack towards Yelp – Facebook has partnered with various foodie publications such as Bon Appétit, Condé Nast Traveler, Eater.com and Grub Street to pull in restaurant reviews and display them within search results for restaurants. The new program will showcase professional reviews and user reviews which combine reviews from your Facebook friends and general Facebook users.
Facebook is clearly targeting local businesses lately – especially restaurants – and the new attention they’re giving the local market puts them into direct competition with Yelp. See earlier this year Facebook began testing something called Place Tips – suggestions for nearby businesses. Well these Place Tips got further expanded with the re-introduction of the Facebook Beacon program which lets business owners show their users and those walking by helpful tips and a welcoming message to entice them to come in.
Now imagine merging everything together. You’re walking down the street, passing a bar you’ve never been to which happens to have a Facebook Beacon setup. The outside looks interesting, so you make a search on your Facebook app for the bar and you immediately get some info about the bar, photos, a message from the owner, reviews from Eater.com and your friends. There’s literally nothing else you need short of going in and buying a drink. What if Facebook can help here also? Remember Facebook jumped into the payments space when they introduced the ability to send money to your friends earlier this year. So let’s take it a step further. You’ve now decided you want to go to to this bar – which has a special promotion on 2 for 1 beers. You buy the promotion right on your Facebook app while walking into the bar – and by the time you’ve hit the bar counter you’re cold brew is ready for you.