Facebook is always changing so it is important to stay on top of what’s new and what’s working when it comes to using Facebook to market your business effectively. The newest release is the new Graph search feature. This is an exciting new development and if you prepare your Business Fan Page correctly for it you will see some great benefits from this new feature.
The new search feature is currently being rolled out gradually to Facebook users but if you can’t wait you can also request to be put on their waiting list for a quicker option. I put my name on the list and the feature was added to my profile within a few days. Here is where you can go to get on the list https://www.facebook.com/about/graphsearch.
The search feature works similar to Google search where you can put your keywords into the search bar to find what you are looking for but the big difference is that the search is only done through Facebook, so the results you get will be what is currently on Facebook in reference to what you are searching for. The search will also only give you results based specifically to each user’s connections, so it will base the results on what your connections on Facebook are also connected to in reference to what you searched for.
What to do to prepare your Business Fan Page for best results in the search
There are a few main factors to consider when you are preparing your Fan Page content to work best with this new feature.
The main factors to evaluate are:
- Your Keywords
- Your Business Category
- Your Connections
- Engagement
Keywords
The keywords factor is based on how you define your business. Just like on your website when you want Google to find you keywords are an important item to focus on. Your Fan Page will work similar to this, you will want to use keywords based on your business and how people search for you online and then use them in your Business Fan Page profile information. Use keywords in your description and about section to describe your business appropriately. Facebook looks at several things when it provides search results including Profiles, Pages, Likes, Check ins, Posts, Tags, and Comments so you will want to consider all of these when you are evaluating how to use your keywords in your content. But also remember not to spam your whole page with keywords, use them naturally in your content and use them where it makes sense to focus on what your business offers.
Category and Location
When you first set up your Business Page you had to choose a category for your business, now is a good time to go back in and evaluate how you have this set up. Do you have your page categorized in the best way so when people do a search on Facebook it would pull up your page for the category you most relate your business to? If not go ahead and go in and take a look at the category options and choose the best one that relates and describes your business.
One other thing to consider also is if you are a local business make sure you are including your business address on your page information and that you are encouraging your visitors to check –in, this will help with engagement and the search results because Facebook also gives more results to people based on what is closest to them by location.
Your Connections
The search feature is also based on your connections, so the results you receive from doing a search is also pulled from content of anything you are connected to on Facebook. So this means that the number of people you are connected to on your Facebook Page, meaning the number of Likes, is really going to be a big factor on how people find you with the new search feature because the more people that are connected to you the more you will show up in the search results when they search.
Engagement
It also looks at engagement that occurs with those connections, so having a lot of likes is the first step but another important step is to have the engagement with those people that liked your page.
So as an example if someone is searching for a restaurant on Facebook with the new search feature the results they will receive are going to pull from restaurants they are connected to on FB or their friends and connections are connected to, it will also give those results based on which ones are closest in location and people have engaged with by checking in.
This is a great new feature that can really help your business page get more exposure as long as you take the steps above to get prepared. If you were already focusing on building targeted fans and then building a strong connection and relationship with them on your Business Page then these steps won’t be much different than your current strategy, but if you don’t’ have those key points in place with your marketing then this is a great time to start.
To Your Success!
Kate Wilber
The Marketing Momma
Have we connected over on Facebook yet? I would love it if you stopped by to say Hi and introduce yourself! http://www.facebook.com/marketingmomma