Facebook Adds Features For Local Business

In their ever-escalating quest to cash in on ad revenue, Facebook has added some neat new features to help attract local business.

Going forward, Facebook users can do more than “like” a Facebook page, or get directions from a Facebook ad to a physical location. It is now possible to call businesses directly from their Facebook ad – all by clicking a button.

The new locally focused features also include an enhanced ability to create ads easily and directly from Facebook. To use the service, users can select a call to action (Like This Page, Call Now or Get Directions), set a target area they want to reach, and pick a budget. The new ad creator is located under the Promote Your Local Business button.

As an additional feature, businesses can also see statistics on the ads on their notifications panels. That data includes how many people they reached and how many clicked through on a call to action.