FavRav lets Facebook users refer local businesses to friends

Facebook can be a daunting place for many small businesses. While they dream of reaching some of the social network’s more than 450 million users, they don’t always have the time or money. Enter a new Facebook application, FavRav, that aims to help local businesses tap current customers to create positive recommendations for their Facebook friends and drive business.

The company’s service sounds pretty simple. A business can create a FavRav profile, send an email to their current customers and ask them to recommend the business to their friends. Ideally, customers would agree and write up a glowing review which would then be automatically posted to the users Facebook wall as well as other social networks, including LinkedIn and Twitter. Promotions can be attached to updates as well to help drive friends interest. The company claims a 3-5 percent clickthrough rate.

The price, at $29 a month, seems attractive to small businesses. Other means of driving business leads, such as SEO or banner ads, can cost several hundred dollars a month with much lower clickthrough rates.

While one might think review giants like Yelp or CitySearch might be direct competition, cofounder Bill Manos argues that FavRav is different:

“If you’re looking for a recommendation on a great ‘date night’ restaurant or local bar, you can use the other myriad of referral/recommendation sites like Yelp or Citysearch. We’re really the place people come when you need a trusted referral from friends on important decisions like your first child’s pediatrician, a realtor for your next home purchase or an insurance agent to help you protect your family.”

Redbeacon, a company that helps you find local service providers, also lets Facebook users tap their friends through updates to gain perspective on local businesses and their services.

The Westlake Village, Calif.-based company, founded in 2009, is privately funded and claims to have over 30 businesses using the service currently.

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