Launch of Graph Search
Recently Facebook announced a major change to their platform that will affect all billion people using Facebook: Facebook Graph Search.
Facebook Graph Search is a new way to search on Facebook and to find information based on connections to people or businesses and their interests and “likes” as recorded on Facebook. This is a major change that will alter both your personal and marketing lives in four major ways.
Guide to Facebook Graph Search
If you do not yet have access to Facebook Graph Search, make sure to request it here: https://www.facebook.com/about/graphsearch. We will also be launching our Facebook Graph Search for Marketers Whitepaper in the coming days, so request your copy now!
1. Networking
I’m leaving soon on a trip to Portland. Previously the most efficient way for me to find people I might want to network with or just hang out with was using LinkedIn and searching by city. Now I can easily search who I know in Portland. Lo and behold some folks I didn’t even know lived there popped up! Now I can set some lunch dates, scheduling a business meeting or know who to avoid depending on what you’re trying to do!
First I type in my search (notice the top navigation moved to the right hand side so search is the first thing people will see and click on):
Then I choose which Portland I want and my friends appear. Notice I can refine the search on the right hand side.
2. Likes are recommendations
For years we’ve been preaching don’t worry about likes. The reason for this was that even if someone liked your page, they wouldn’t necessarily see your updates due to Facebook’s Edgerank.
Now however, likes are recommendations. I may search for restaurants near where I currently am, in Brookings, SD. The restaurants with the most likes shows up first.
Then I may decide to filter that search based on my friends. Thus I search for restaurants near Brookings, SD that my friends like. Notice how the order and visibility changes:
Then I might decide I want to base my choice on the tastes of a particular friend. I know my brother Paul has great tastes in restaurants, so I’ll look for restaurants near Brookings, SD that Paul likes. Again the results change:
What this means is that likes matter. And even more importantly, strategic likes matter.
While it’s helpful if your grandma likes a page, it will help you more if someone who is will connected and respected likes your page because when people filter searches based on that influencer’s interests, your business will show up.
What makes this fascinating is that it takes Google’s search algorithm and makes it personal.
On Google if a popular website links to your site, your visibility on search will improve. Now on Facebook if a person who is popular links to you your page’s visibility will improve in the graph search.
Just look for example at the pages that fans of our 9 Clouds page like:
3. Actions (and apps) are recommendations
In the past year there has been an explosion of apps that tie in to Facebook. Apps such as Spotify post on Facebook the music you have been listening to. Pinterest posts images you like. Stitcher shares podcasts you have been listening to.
It seems Facebook is now activating this data to help you find music, images and podcasts your friends like.
For example, my brother Paul has great taste in music, so I can search for music that Paul listens to:
Facebook apps will thus be increasingly important for businesses and for individuals artists/game creators/writers/etc., you will want to encourage your fans and customers to listen to your music and sync with Facebook or play your Facebook game or share books you’re reading on Facebook. Getting that data into the massive Facebook machine will help more people find your art serendipitously.
4. Images (still) matter
Our friends over at Lemon.ly have been preaching this for the past year: visual marketing matters. They’ve been creating infographics and interactive graphics that have taken advantage of this very fact.
Facebook graph search makes images all the more important. As a business you now REALLY want your customers to take photos via Instagram or Facebook and tag the location. Anything you can do to encourage this, whether give aways, photo contests or other creative ideas will help you show up.
For example, I can search photos of pages I like taken in Brookings. You can immediately see user generated content that can help promote a business:
Future of Graph Search
As with any new feature or technology, it will take time to see how people use it and how it will ultimately change our lives and the marketing that we do. One thing is certain: any major change to a platform that connects 1/7th of the world’s population matters.
Learn more about Graph Search as we develop our guide: Facebook Graph Search for Marketers. We’ll find you soon on Facebook!
