New Facebook Changes:  What Marketers (and Consumers) Should Know

Every time Facebook makes changes, I get a frenzy of hateful opinions in my news feed, because most users simply don’t like changes.

Me?  I LOVE when Facebook updates, because it makes my online marketing job (and observation of online consumer behavior) that much more interesting.

So, let’s talk about the major changes that marketers will certainty be taking advantage of.  If you’re simply a Facebook user, consider this blog post as a way to educate yourself about the ways to avoid the inevitable scams that are going to pop up quite soon.

*Note:  some people may not have these changes yet- they roll it out slowly.  Look for it in the next few months.

Best change for marketers: third party apps will be fully integrated into your profile page.

Each time you ‘like’ something, instead of asking if you want to allow the app access to your profile, it will automatically be given access.   The Chicago Tribune sums it up perfectly::

“Facebook, mostly through your “likes” — and with its growing list of partners, including Netflix, Spotify and The Washington Post — will track all of your shopping, listening and viewing and identify patterns so that it can suggest more things to buy, listen to or view.”

And that’s just the beginning- Facebook wants to partner with as many news, music and video companies as possible to integrate Facebook as an ‘entertainment hub.’

So, when you buy something on Netflix or Hulu or any other partner, it’s announced to your Facebook feed.  Are you listening to a song on Spotify?  Everyone knows what song you’re listening to on Spotify, because your feed will announce it- and then maybe everyone will comment on how fabulous your Glee music station really is.   Awesome for marketers, bad for privacy buffs.  Can you turn this off?  Sure.  But I’m not going to tell you how.

 Second best change for marketers:  New brand page uses.

Among other things, marketers can now view and track shares of a post, users don’t have to ‘like’ a page to comment on its wall (making it easier to increase consumer engagement,) and impression per data post is going to be part of Page Insights, making it way easier to do analytics.

 Third best change for marketers:  Facebook ‘Sponsored Stories.’ 

This is truly inspired (and kind of creepy.)  Brands will be able to use Facebook user activities to generate endorsements that can be placed in ads and shown to friends.  For example, Facebook knows I watched “Maid in Manhattan” on Netflix- and Netflix will tell all of my friends too, in a Netflix ad in their user profile.   Even if I hated the movie, the Netflix ad will announce to the world I watched it.  (Never actually saw Maid in Manhattan, by the way- just needed a terrible movie to make a point.)  Ditto for stories I read on the Guardian or Washington Post.

Other things of note in the new Facebook:

• More buttons like ‘like.’  There will now be buttons for “read” “listen” “watch” etc, guiding page activity.  Online marketers will be able to develop campaigns based on what their fans do more- read, watch, or listen- and naturally, this will go on your feed as well.

•  Timeline.  It actually looks pretty cool- it ‘”compiles all your activity into a visual scrapbook and life story.”  If you don’t have it yet, you will in a few weeks.  Basically, it puts everything from your profile into chronological order, making your profile more of a ‘story.’

•  Subscriptions. You can now ‘subscribe’ to anyone’s feed on Facebook, even if you’re not friends with them.   (You’re automatically subscribed to all your friends.)  People who ‘subscribe’ to you will be able to see your public updates.  For example, if you want to subscribe to a celebrity, you would see any posts they deem ‘public’ in your feed even if you aren’t friends.  It’s basically Facebook’s response to Google + circles.

Anything I missed?   Viva la online marketing!