Social Media

6 Sites to Monitor Facebook Changes

Facebook is notorious for making changes to its platform. Often, such changes are made with little notice or fanfare, unless you know where to look.

Staying abreast of such changes is important to any merchant who wishes to use Facebook marketing more effectively. In this article, I provide six resources to keep you in the know.

1. Facebook Marketing

Facebook Marketing is a fan page for small businesses.

Facebook Marketing is a fan page for small businesses.

Facebook maintains its own fan page to apprise small businesses of new features, platform changes, and other important news.

Primarily, the page is designed to help educate and inspire marketers through what Facebook refers to as its 4 Steps to Business Success. Also included are case studies of companies that use Facebook, product launch updates, new feature announcements, and educational programs.

If you want to stay on top of what’s happening within the Facebook ecosystem, this is the place to start.

2. Facebook for Business

Facebook for Business has educational resources and information.

Facebook for Business has educational resources and information.

Somewhat aligned with the Facebook marketing fan page, Facebook for Business is a microsite that dispenses educational information in the form of how-to articles, videos, and downloadable PDF guides.

The site provides in-depth information on Facebook’s “4 Steps to Business Success,” and also includes a What’s New section, business success stories (case studies), and a list of other resources.

Much of the same material on the Facebook marketing fan page appears here, but in a more organized format.

3. Facebook Studio

Facebook Studio is designed for agency use.

Facebook Studio is designed for agency use.

Another microsite, Facebook Studio, caters to advertising agencies that want to leverage the social network to create marketing campaigns. Merchants will likely find the information useful, too, however.

The education section, for example, contains a series of short videos about Facebook Pages and Facebook Advertising. Though full access to Facebook Studio is restricted to ad agencies that apply for membership on the site, some content is available for public viewing.

One of the most useful sections is the Gallery. It includes examples of campaigns created by agencies, which may serve to inspire ideas smaller merchants could use.

There is also a blog with helpful tips and suggestions on how to make better use of the platform. One post, for example, discusses how Facebook’s News Feed and Promoted Posts work. Another lists three things marketers need to know about Facebook’s mobile platform. That’s valuable information any marketer can apply.

4. Facebook Developer Blog

Facebook's developer blog is less useful, but worth attention.

Facebook’s developer blog is less useful, but worth attention.

Though targeted for Facebook app developers, this blog relays information that merchants need to be aware of. It’s not as useful as the previous resources, but is worth keeping an eye on.

I subscribe to the RSS feed — an email subscription option is also available — and quickly scan posts to see if they contain any information that may be helpful from a marketing perspective.

The first four resources are all Facebook-owned properties. The next two are continuously updated third-party media sites that meticulously cover Facebook news.

5. Inside Facebook

Founded in 2006, Inside Facebook is a source for news and analysis on Facebook’s global growth, corporate developments, and product innovations. Its industry-focused posts are updated daily and target developers, marketers ,and investors.

6. AllFacebook

Started in 2007, AllFacebook refers to itself as the “unofficial Facebook blog.” It is a resource that covers just about anything related to Facebook including “how-to” information and breaking news.

Summary

Not only do these sites keep merchants abreast of the many changes taking place on the Facebook platform, they provide added benefits in the form of educational resources, case studies, marketing campaign ideas, and industry-related news.

Paul Chaney
Paul Chaney
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