Facebook Graph Search: What it Means for Small and Medium Businesses
Facebook dropped a bombshell today, announcing the launch of their “Graph Search’ product, which was a far cry from the Facebook phone many suspected was behind the hype of the big launch.
So What is it, and What Does it Mean for Small and Medium Business?
Essentially it is a powerful ‘answer-specific’ search engine within Facebook itself. To use Zuckerberg’s (Facebook’s founder) own words; “Graph Search is designed to take a precise query and give you an answer, rather than links that might provide the answer,” (such as a Google search would provide).
Small and Medium Business pages will be impacted and the good news is, if you are utilizing Social Media correctly there will be great benefits to you!
Your Page Will Come Up in Searches by your Fans Friends (If you are Maintaining Your Facebook Page Correctly)
Your business page and Facebook ‘places’ account will both show up in searches. (Remember just a few weeks ago Facebook announced that customers would now be able to write reviews of your business on your Facebook places account? We’re seeing the tie-in here.) Those reviews, along with how many likes your page has and how often particular friend/s may have checked-in to your business will all display when a search is conducted.
For instance as Zuckerberg states; “users can search for phrases like, “restaurants liked by my friends”, or “cities my families have been to… The search results can be extremely personal, with users able to search for friends who like specific things.”
We have no doubt you are beginning to see the importance of maintaining, updating and providing relevant and interesting posts onto your newsfeed in a consistant manner!
Don’t worry, if you’re working your Facebook page correctly and you have great customer service in place this change will be a benefit to you and is nothing to worry about. For those businesses (hopefully your competitors!) that haven’t started a Facebook page, or started one and left it empty with the occasional sad, sporadic posts appearing every few months, the news is not so good.
The businesses that are those posting frequently with relevant and valuable content are the businesses who will be displayed most prominently on Facebook Graph Search, it’s just that simple.
Yet Another Reason to Prioritise Marketing Funds for Social Media – Don’t Get Left Behind!
Yes, Facebook has just given you yet another reason to ensure you are spending time on your social media, or hiring a company who specializes in Social Media Management to create an impactful strategy for your brand!
The reality is that if you are not utilising social media for your business your competitor is, or soon will be. Don’t get left behind and spend months or years playing catch up. Contact us today if you need help with creating or maintaining your social media pages – or even just for a little advise – we’re always happy to help!
Facebook Graph Search is in Beta testing right now and will roll out to various people and groups over the following weeks. When you see it, check it out and leave us some feedback here in the comments section, we’d love to know what you think!