How Can Using the Facebook Graph Tool Benefit Users and Advertisers?

Can Facebook Graph Benefit You?

The launch of the Facebook Graph search has sprung into a heavy debate between Facebook users and advertisers alike, some worried about how it will affect their privacy and others more concerned with how it will affect their online business and internet marketing strategy. So what is this provoking feature introduced by Mark Zuckerberg? What will it mean for users? And furthermore, what will it mean for advertisers?

Facebook Graph Search Tool

What is the Facebook Graph?

The Facebook graph is simply a new way of searching. It delivers your search results in a different way than search engines where it doesn’t use keywords to detect relevant pages for the user, but instead uses networks and connections the user already has to deliver the results. These connections might include friends, interests, likes, or other settings which are unique to each user.

How Can Facebook Users Make the Most of it?

At the moment, Facebook Graph is in its early stages just as Facebook was when it first launched. Currently, you will be able to launch searches using your profile by entering enquiries related to likes, interests, people, places, friends and photos. This will later develop into more sophisticated searches such as archived wall posts etc.

The way that it will help you as a Facebook user is that it will streamline and save you time in your searches. Rather than having to route through a friend’s profile to find his or her likes you can enter “[Friend’s name]’s favourite TV show” or something more general “Friends who like Disney films” and so on.

It is a personalised feature which enables the Facebook user to have searches that relate to them – and every search will be unique just as every profile is.

What Does This New Tool Mean for Advertisers?

For SEO (Search Engine Optimisation), the Graph Search tool could have big implications for the future. It could mean that visibility for your brand, products or services may be able to improve when used correctly. The optimisation rules will inevitably totally different to Google or any other search engine, but it is a market worth tapping into just for the sheer volume of users that login to Facebook every day (approx. 250 million).

To make the most of this tool for advertisers, businesses need to make sure they take Facebook advice. Apparently the search will return the top search suggestions such as apps, Pages, people,  groups, places or suggested searches.

Facebook says: “People can search for things like restaurants near them, hotels in places they want to travel to, photos posted by Pages they like, or games that their friends like to play.”

Want to learn more about Graph?  Click here to check out the information provided by Facebook and even join the waiting list to try it out!

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Why Social Media Management?

Social Media ManagementYou’ve seen the signs, “like us”, “follow us”, “connect to us”, “join our community”. In  today’s competitive market companies strive to find that edge that sets them apart from competitors.  Social media can help.

How should your business use Social Media? Simply put, the same way you use your website, print advertising, television & radio commercials, direct mail, and every other form of marketing available to you.

Why Social Media

Social media should be a part of your marketing strategy, planned and maintained like all your other marketing efforts.  Used properly, it can help you to learn about your consumer, their wants and needs, while helping you to easily maintain a long term relationship.  Leveraged properly, it can help you to :

  • Build brand awareness
  • Build a relationship and your credibility with customers and prospects
  • Great way to network with people and to get to know your customers
  • Field questions about your product and services in a social environment
  • Manage your reputation online
  • Drive targeted traffic to your website and business

Why Social Media Management Services?

Social media marketing isn’t free.  The social presence may cost nothing, but to create and effectively handle a social media marketing campaign someone has to maintain the effort.  In many companies, that person is likely an existing employee with other job responsibilities.

Outsourcing your social media marketing can help to create more effective time and campaign management with:

  • Strategic timing and scheduling for posts & campaigns
  • Relationship building with customers and prospects
  • Fast and accurate response to customer inquiries
  • Creative content development
  • Relevant and timely industry news and information
  • Knowledge- Social media sites are often changing the rules.  Our social media management team is continuously changing techniques to respond to those changes.

Remember, creating an online social media account is only the first step.  You have to work it to make it work for you.

© 2012 Blue Lava Design Group, Inc.

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Have You Upgraded to The New Facebook Profile Page?

Facebook has released a redesign of profile pages which eliminates the pop-ups, changes the look and feel, and according to Facebook makes it easier for users to “share and tell their stories”.

The new profile page opens up with a summary of your personal information such as who you are, where you work, and where you grew up. It also includes a recently tagged photos at the top of your profile (of which you have control in your privacy settings or can change on the fly).

Your navigation has changed. Say goodbye to tabs. Now, all your old tabs are available in a menu below your profile picture. Your wall looks cleaner and most of the functionallity is the same. Your status bar is not open by default instead, it is located under your featured photos. In order to post something new, you must select an option such as status, photo, link, or video. It does appear that you are no longer able to post a status update and add a link, etc to that status update. If that is incorrect, let us know.

Click on the Info link and in the main segment where your wall posts were, you now have additional information about yourself including employer information, experiences, philosophy, arts and entertainment, activities and intersts, and your contact information. Everything you ever wanted the world to know and more. This layout is a bit cleaner and easier for visitors to navigate. Photos, notes, and friends are also displayed in the same manner.

Poke and Send Message links are now located at the top right of your friend’s profile page as well as the link to “see friendship” which shows you a summary of you and your friend’s shared connections including photos, wall posts, and comments.

For now, you can keep your old profile layout. But if you would like to take on the change, you can do so here . Be forewarned, once you change to the new profile layout, you cannot revert to the old.

If you do make the change, let us know what you think.

Copyright (c) 2010 Blue Lava Design Group, Inc.

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