Is Your Business Paying Proper Attention to Facebook?
A lot of companies don't even have Facebook fan pages. They consider it a passing fancy the same way Friendster and MySpace were and instead, opt to spend their time and money building Google PPC campaigns.
Think about it this way: if Facebook were a country, it would be just smaller in population to the United States. It is the fourth biggest website on the web. It grows a Twitter every few months. Facebook isn't just some little website Mark Zuckerberg built in his Harvard dorm room--it's the only website with the potential to out-Google Google.
Enter FriendFeed
Ridiculous, you think? This past month, Facebook purchased the obscure but very sophisticated social network FriendFeed, which was created by a bunch of ex-Google engineers. FriendFeed aggregates other social networks into one stream. For example, instead of subscribing to Practical eCommerce's RSS, Twitter, Flickr and YouTube channels, you could subscribe to its FriendFeed and get updates in your stream whenever it creates an update in any of these networks. It allows you to follow people instead of networks.
Here's the kicker--depending on your permission settings, this content is searchable. For example, if you wanted to search any time someone mentions the term "ecommerce" in FriendFeed, you can go into FriendFeed's advanced settings and look for it. You are searching any time anyone mentions "ecommerce" in any social network all over the web, as long as they have a FriendFeed account. Now imagine being able to potentially do this for Facebooks 250 million users. This is what social media pundits call "the real time web", and it will happen to your business whether you like it or not.
There's no telling if Facebook will duplicate FriendFeed's functionality into their own platform. They have stayed very quiet about their plans, but it has not gone unnoticed that they've acquired some of the best search engineers in the world.
The real time web could hit your business like a ton of bricks with Facebook being the likely candidate to lead the charge. Is your business ready for it?
This post is filed under The Social Retailer and has the following keyword tags: Facebook, social media.
7 Comments
LexiConn says:
I agree. It's easy to setup a Facebook fan page and start developing a following. At the very least, publish your business information, noteworthy events, etc... so that this data gets indexed, and can be found by the millions of Facebook users.
Facebook sees the importance of search (just look at Twitter) and I believe they will incorporate a real-time search interface that will be the "social Google".
Rob - LexiConn
Lori Anne Brown says:
I love Facebook and have several pages for my various sites. None have a lot of fans yet (under 100), but I definitely see it as a great way to promote my stores...and its free.
I have to admit I haven't played with Friendfeed a lot though I do have an account there.
Jackie says:
What do you think the best way to get facebook fans is? We have a facebook fan page, but have struggled to get a lot of fans. We do however have a ton of twitter followers.
Any suggestions would be fantastic!
Thanks,
Jackie Mom & Owner Babyandmegifts.com
LexiConn says:
Jackie,
I'm sure you've told your Twitter followers to become a fan on Facebook. Maybe offer a small coupon for the first X people to become a fan on Facebook? Make sure you put your facebook URL in your email signatures, email newsletters, and autoresponders after an order is placed.
Post interesting content only on your Facebook wall, and tweet about it to get people to go to the wall. Make your Facebook page interactive, offering a forum, ask questions on the wall of what people want to see for new products, give tips for the perfect gift, etc... Engage your customers, make them part of the "community" and you'll see your fans grow.
Just a few thoughts to help grow the base. :)
Rob - LexiConn.com
gordon says:
@Jackie - Consider buying some facebook ads to get fans. Suggestion - think about making your facebook page generic - instead of "JoesFishingSupplies" you could make your fan page "Fishing" - you'll get more fans (but the branding won't be as good).
Elizabeth Bighorse says:
Just joined Friendfeed, thanks for the article!
Elizabeth Bighorse
Moodswingsonthenet.com
Christopher James Foote says:
An airline here in Colombia, Aires has one of the most successful facebook campaigns I have seen. The offer discounts on tickets periodically that are not available anywhere else. Fans receive a message offering a 1 day sale of 50% of or whatever and are given a code to use when searching for flights. These exclusive deals build them a fan base which gives them excellent advertising opportunities.
I have special feelings about Aires because I met my wife on an Aires flight from Panama to Cartagena.
It will be challenging for me to gain fans for our e Commerce site and more challenging to convince my boss that it will be helpful.
