This January, Facebook announced it was launching Graph Search, an improvement over the social network’s current search engine. This move has everyone’s attention, from social media marketers to privacy-rights watchdogs. What is Facebook Graph Search, and what difference is it likely to make in B2B marketing?
Facebook has reached a point where it is an internet within the internet; a vast cosmos of information that seemingly never ends and may never really be deleted (more on that later). Why not have a way to search through all that information? A way that allows one to search using locations, reviews, and your friends’ likes as factors?
And thus Graph Search was born.
The idea of Graph Search is that you can use Facebook information as search data. While a Google search of your friends’ recommendations for London restaurants will be pretty much useless, Facebook takes the phrase ‘restaurants in London that my friends like’ and gives you whatever restaurants liked by your London-going friends. (Note: A major difference between Graph Search and Google is that the Facebook engine is designed to use near-complete sentences as search queries.)
To combine its top-tier social status with the functionality of an online search engine seems like a matter of course. But don’t get too excited; Graph Search is still in beta testing.
Initially, the idea of Graph Search seems like a marketers dream: type in ‘people in Chicago who own dogs’ and voila! an instant list of targeted leads for a dog-grooming business. For business-to-business marketers, the outlook is similar, but with a slight twist. Impossibly broad searches can still be narrowed. Recommendation-based leads can still be found.
What keys will lead B2B marketers to success?
First and foremost, the Graph Search improvement should highlight the need to keep your Facebook page current. This simply cannot be stressed enough: update your page frequently. Why? Because now your business page isn’t just your community outreach; it’s part of your search marketing strategy. Make sure it gives an accurate picture to people who are trying to find ‘businesses in my neighborhood that {your service/product here}’.
This speaks to the privacy – publicity angle. If you or your employees have personal pages, any information that you provide Facebook for public use is fair game for Graph Search. So don’t post anything publicly that you don’t want tied to your professional image. And it might be a good idea to review what you posted – even years ago – to avoid any potentially embarrassing search results. (One site referenced an actual test search of ‘employers of people who liked racism’. Panic button time for the unaware employers.)
B2B marketers should remember that they’re not dealing with faceless entities. We’re actually trying to get the attention of people who run companies – people who most likely have a Facebook account. So don’t forget to keep the real, individual human beings within the company in mind when you’re engaging in marketing, or even just reaching out to the community.
While Facebook Graph Search is a potentially exciting tool for business-to-customer marketers, it can also be useful in business-to-business marketing strategy. Many of its current kinks should be worked out in beta testing. Currently it is in what Facebook calls a ‘very limited’ release; no word yet on when it will be fully operational and widely available. But it’s definitely one to keep on the radar.
Photo via: Facebook
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