You’ve likely heard about Facebook’s upcoming internal search function update, called Graph Search, but what does it mean for your company’s social marketing efforts? Facebook marketing consultant Rick Mulready explains in a recent article for Entrepreneur.com, “Facebook’s Graph Search Holds Promise for Social Marketing.”

Graph Search allows users to find things (businesses, movies, photos from a particular time and place, etc.) based on the interests and recommendations of friends and friends of friends. So, as Mark Zuckerberg himself described, you could search for “Indian restaurants liked by my friends from India” or “My friends who live in Palo Alto, California and like Game of Thrones.” Or, more importantly to you, someone in your area could perform a search for something like “Tanning Salons in [my town] that my friends like.”

Basically, Graph Search makes it more important than ever for your business to be on Facebook and have a solid base of fans. The amount of “likes” and friends of people that “like” your business will impact the likelihood of it being found on a deliberate search for salons in your area. Also, those who search for things online tend to be in a “purchasing mindset,” so these are the people that you most want to be finding your business. Plus, presumably, some people will look to Graph Search as a better alternative to searching for certain things on Google, because of the opportunity for more personalized results.

Another aspect to consider is the possibility of yet another type of Facebook advertising through Graph Search. According to Mulready, it’s likely that Facebook will offer the chance to advertise next to search results, like on Google or other search engines, at some point.

Graph Search is currently being rolled out to a limited number of beta testers. You can view Facebook’s introduction to the new search function, and sign up for a waiting list to become one of the first to try it, here.

Click here for the entire article from Entrepreneur.com.

 
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