New Facebook Opportunities

Facebook recently added some new services such as "Places, Questions, and Groups" and expanded their services on "Photos and Likes". Mashable also does a good job of explaining their new services in this article. Here are a few of our ideas on ways to leverage these updates and services, and create value.

1) Photos
Photos are an integral part of Facebook's value. As Facebook continues to upgrade their photo offering and sharing features, there will be more opportunity to expand your brand and engage your customers and advocates. Photos also help bring your companies Facebook page to life. Businesses should not overlook the interaction power and sharing opportunities that photos can create between you and your customers. Video falls into a similar category as photos.

2) Groups
You can read more in this previous article on facebook's new groups in a weekly recap. The new group features allow for live chat, and can be used for business purposes by creating more targeted customer focus groups or event oriented groups. Be aware though, when using groups you must have a definitive strategy regarding who you invite, and the purpose of the conversation.

3) Questions
Facebook Questions is an area that will continue to evolve and shape the boundaries of social search. Businesses can take advantage of Facebook Questions by answering these questions as a business and/or thought leader or expert in that particular field. It is also important to tread carefully with this and use as soft sell approach when asking questions as a marketing or informational tool to your community. It is important to note that all questions are open to everyone and live outside of your community, so this needs to be remembered when asking and answering questions.

4) Places
If your business has a physical store or location, than Facebook places is another utility (Foursquare) that can help increase foot traffic, by encouraging people to check-in. An "I was here" message gets delivered to the friends and posted to the place page. So go claim your page, because Facebook has 500+ million users, which means most the people that come into your business are on Facebook and have a network of friends that you can easily reach out to.

5) Likes
Some consider "likes" and "fans" as the end all, which I disagree with. A smaller but more targeted fan base can be far more effective than a large number of likes by unqualified people. However, having more people that "like" your company or page creates a larger distribution network, and therefore has incredible marketing power. There are many creative ways to drive people to "liking" your company, however the most effective way is to have a strategy and be persistent... which I'll save for another post.