Search Goes Social with Facebook Graph Search
So, it seems like everyone online is talking about the new Facebook Graph Search lately. What in the world is Graph Search? For a business owner, marketing is tough enough, now all of a sudden this new kind of search popped up in our social networks! Don't freak out. New is good and Graph Search is very good. Why? For small business owners without big budgets, Facebook's new Graph Search could be your marketing machine. It's free, participation only requires an active Facebook page and you don't have to worry about large competitors to show up at the top of search results. It's a win-win situation- but you have to be prepared to make the commitment to making people “Like” your business... literally!
Do you like things your friends like? Have you ever used a product that was recommended by a friend? Mark Zuckerberg and the staff at Facebook think you and their 1 billion+ users are more likely to choose a business because their friends like it. Are they right? Of Course. That's why Graph Search was created.
Here's how the new Social Search Engine works:
It's located at the top left window of Facebook for any user who's activated the feature. Basically, the top of your Facebook becomes a search engine.
1. You, the consumer and Facebook user, log in and decide you want to search for a certain business. Businesses more closely connected to your social graph will show up higher in Graph Search results by default.
2. After your initial results show up, you're given the option to narrow down your search with local and social search options. I chose to refine my search socially because I want to go to a hotel that I know my friends like.
You can explore the social graph from a number of different angles to see which business is the best fit for you. In my example, the hotel in my area that more of my friends like, shows up first in search results.
Just like the rest of the social world, I'm going to go ahead and click the first one. Then I'm going to research a few more.
It's very simple, but Facebook's Graph Search will result in some major reputation management for every company. Forcing businesses to make people like them is a creative marketing tactic and could be an epic advancement of traditional search going Social. "Good business practices" as your strongest marketing strategy truly defines this new era of social and digital marketing. It's no secret that jumping on board is your best chance of surviving this revolution. Get people to “Like” your business. , whether it's Online and offline. You have the power to do it. Jumping on board this social search revolution starts with a creating a branded presence with a custom Facebook page.
If your customers like you, they will come to your page. If it isn't there, you're losing opportunity and potentially excluding yourself from Graph Search results. After you create the page, you can develop a content strategy to stay in front of customers and influence more people to like your page.
What do you think about the new Graph Search and the push for traditional to social search? Please share your thoughts with us!