Let’s face it: Facebook is huge and it’s here to stay. More than 400 million people are Facebook users, which represents a big opportunity for businesses. But now that Facebook has changed its familiar â€Fan†option to a â€Like†option as part of something it calls the "Open Graph", it looks like there are even more benefits for businesses to look forward to. Facebook has changed the familiar "become a fan" button to a new button simply called "Like," and then expanded the types of things that users can "Like." This includes not only "liking" Facebook business pages, but also enables users to "Like" content on other sites all around the web. More than 50,000 web sites have already implemented the Open Graph features (e.g., the "Like" button), and additional sites and applications are already in position to implement this new functionality in a variety of new ways. So what does this mean for your business? Here are a few benefits that are likely: * More Traffic. The new Open Graph also brings a new set of social plug-ins that will be helpful in driving additional, more interactive traffic to Facebook, as well as to other sites on the web. The new â€Like†option is one of those plug-ins. If a visitor decides to â€like†something on your web site, it not only shows up on the visitor’s Facebook news feed (and the news feeds of that visitor's "friends"), but it also remains on the visitor’s Facebook profile, becoming a fixed link back to your web content. * Alternative Search Results. For instance, if Facebook is keeping track of the most â€liked†restaurants in your city, and also knows which restaurants that your social network of friends â€likesâ€, Facebook could potentially show you customized results that would look more like recommendations than random search results. This doesn’t replace the need for high rankings in Google, of course, but it does make it even more important for your business to have a solid presence on Facebook so you can be included in alternative search results. * Local Business Locator. As more businesses flock to Facebook, it’s likely that Facebook could become the most popular place on the web to find local information. Local businesses often attract customer â€likes†from their own geographic areas, and those customers also have their own networks of connections who may in turn pass information along to others, and so on. In theory, anyway, Facebook could be poised to be the single most effective local directory and search tool on the web, so if your business is already there †you'll get the benefit. * Competitive Advantage. With a solid Facebook presence in place, your business can receive â€likes†and â€recommendations†from an enormous pool of users, all with the ability to share and propagate your content though their own networks of connections. Collecting â€likes†not only helps promote your business, it also reflects well on your business and shows that visitors like and trust you. Although there is no formal â€don’t like†option, the absence of â€likes†for your business could be viewed as a sign that there is a problem with your business, or that your brand is not worth recommending. This can be especially harmful if your competitors are getting plenty of â€likes†from Facebook users. * Building Expertise. Another feature you can use to your advantage on Facebook is to carefully select other quality pages/resources to â€like†and â€recommend†to your own network of connections. By â€liking†other professional pages and sharing valuable content from impeccable sources, you are painting yourself as an expert who recognizes excellence, and an expert who should be listened to, followed, and shared with others. As the Open Graph continues to grow and spread, there will undoubtedly be more web sites and new applications that put this technology to use, creating even more opportunities for businesses using Facebook. As with other social networking sites on the web today, Facebook can be used as a serious marketing tool †especially for small businesses. Facebook, with its 400 million plus users and ever-evolving marketing benefits (including Open Graph), has simply become too important from a business perspective to ignore.
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