Love it or not, owners must use Facebook
The most recent changes which include a real-time news ticker, a new profile, larger photos and social apps are more than just a means to enhance Facebook’s visual design. They signal what many social media experts have known for a long time: Facebook is not interested in gaining more users or even increasing revenue (both of which it will inevitably do).
Rather, Facebook wants to become a lifestyle network. It wants to increase the emotional connection users have with it and each other through the site and ultimately become the digital platform where people spend most of their time on the Internet.
The most recent step toward this goal is Facebook’s launch of a new Open Graph, which allows developers to build their own “social apps” that let users watch TV shows and movies, listen to music, and read news stories through the Facebook interface.
To create a social experience, these apps automatically share what users are watching, listening to, or reading through the real-time ticker. This makes it easier for other users to discover new content from their friends and theoretically draws people into consuming more content on Facebook.
Many businesses and content providers believe that Facebook integration and digital peer pressure will be good for them, because it will lead to higher engagement with their products. The potential to harness an even higher level of social energy has helped Facebook partner with big brands like Netflix and Hulu to add television shows and movies, Spotify and Rhapsody to add music, and Yahoo and the Washington Post to add news. While these sites exist outside of Facebook, they may have a deeper impact on potential customers within the social network.
Facebook has more than 800 million active users, including half of all Americans. We now devote more time to Facebook than any other website. If a company wants to share its messages with its audiences, it needs to go to where the audiences are. Chances are they are on Facebook.
Cause for wincing
Every day I encounter business people who are uncomfortable with Facebook because of their personal experiences with the site. Being in the reputation business, I share their concerns. I wince when I see people eroding their personal brands by over-sharing on Facebook.
With increased exposure comes increased risk. Consider GoDaddy.com CEO Bob Parsons, who posted a YouTube video of himself killing an elephant on a social networking site. Apparently many of his customers didn’t share his love of hunting exotic animals, because his company lost thousands of customers after the post.
But exposure also comes with incredible opportunity. Leaving personal opinions of Facebook aside, businesses cannot deny that Facebook provides significant opportunities to communicate with key audiences and customers in a constantly evolving world in which people are spending more time on Facebook.
Despite all of Facebook’s changes, the fundamentals of using it remain the same. To achieve results, businesses need to identify their key audiences and engage them in clear and concise ways.
The tools for delivering messages may be constantly evolving, but the importance of good communication strategies will never change.
Jennifer Hellman,
Goff Public:
651.292.8062
jennifer@goffpublic.com
www.goffpublic.com
