It's all the buzz right now, and Facebook is slowly letting users see what the fuss is all about. Marketers everywhere are frantically trying to figure out how they're going to use Graph Search as part of their social business strategy or not. Most of them haven't even seen it yet, but it could be a very powerful way for consumers to find information about the things they are interested in and get recommendations based on what their friends have done and "liked." We got a sneak peek at it from Liva Judic on the Friday Hangout last week, and had some good discussion about it too.

Wait, what is this Graph Search thing anyway?
Currently in limited beta release, Facebook Graph Search will allow users to search Facebook about people, places and interests. They'll also be able to combine those searches for things like:

  • Restaurants my friends like in Seattle
  • Photos my friends took in New York
  • Nightclubs nearby my friends like
  • Music my friends like
  • Friends who are single and like kayaking

For data miners this is going to be very interesting. Time will tell if fans use it or not. Here's a link to Facebook's announcement.


Why optimize my Facebook page for Graph Search?
For businesses who are smart now, they can get ahead of the competition by optimizing their Facebook pages to show us in searches more often. Now more than ever it's going to be critical to really ENGAGE your fans. You want them to like you, comment on your content and share it with your friends. The more people who engage on your page the better you'll show up in Graph Searches. Wouldn't you be more inclined to try a restaurant liked by 10 of your friends than one?

It's likely "personal" users will get much more out of this search tool than businesses unless business page owners really step up to the plate and work at encouraging users to share photos on their page, and engage users on a different level.

If you have a Facebook Page for your business there's a lot you can do right now to make the most of the new Graph Search and show your business to its best advantage in those search results.

That's why we wrote a new e-book. It's going to help you make the most of your Facebook page, get better engagement and be ready to show up in Graph Search as much as possible with positive comments, photos and shares. You can read more and learn how to download it here.

 

Janet Fouts is a social media coach who helps individuals and corporations figure out how to use social media as part of their outreach and marketing program. She's a frequent speaker at conferences, conduct workshops training sessions and webinars around social media and online marketing and has authored three books on social media, "Social Media Success," "#Socialmedia PR tweet," and "#Socialmedia Nonprofit tweet." TatuDigital is a full service inbound marketing agency, co-founded by Fouts.