How Facebook is Constantly Changing The Social Media Landscape

Watch out, Google, Yelp, Periscope and other apps – Facebook is now a more direct competitor, as it continues to develop more social features within the app.
The most popular social network site is about to get even more popular by incorporating aspects of other popular services — aspects like reviews, professional services and topics searches, live video feed, page verification and even call-to-action buttons.

‘LIKE’ REACTION ICONS

As you’ve probably noticed, the people behind the Facebook curtain are constantly working on creating new features as well as improving existing ones. For the last few months, users have been able to react to content in more ways than just the ‘Like’ button, being able to choose from ‘Love,’ ‘Haha,’ ‘Wow,’ ‘Sad’ and ‘Angry,’ based on the emotion users feel concerning a Facebook post.

Although most users really just wanted the addition of ‘Dislike’ button

LIVE VIDEO FEED

Facebook users might also react differently to features such as being able to stream live video from a mobile device. Much like Periscope, your friends and followers will be notified when you “Go Live” and you can see who’s currently viewing while you’re streaming. Even more efficient than regular videos, this is a great way to get more viewers and engagement on your posts. Once you’re done streaming live, the video will remain on Facebook for viewers to watch at their convenience, gaining even more views.

TOPICS SEARCH

Need to do some research on a topic? Are you desperate for content for your own page? Want to know what’s trending, or just looking for some information on a subject? Now you can simply type your subject into the search bar and results will appear, similar to any other search engine app.

When clicking on, “See all results for…,” you’ll see top posts on the subject from friends, other pages, as well as latest posts on that subject. Facebook users will also be able to see people, photos, videos, places, groups and apps related to that subject. Seriously, who needs any other app?

FACEBOOK PROFESSIONAL SERVICES

Remember those huge, bulky, yellow bricks dropped off on your porch a not-so-long time ago? Facebook has helped Google and Angie’s List contribute to their decomposition on your doorstep, as they are considering themselves the new yellow pages.

Need a local plumber in the Denver Metro area? Looking for a dog groomer in the Littleton neighborhood? Simply type in the profession and the area in which you’re in need and just like Google, you’ll see a list of the most relevant professional businesses, along with a map and pins of each listing. The top listings depend on a number of things as well, like the number of reviews a business has, if your friends ‘Like’ their page and if they’re verified, according to Facebook.

FACEBOOK REVIEWS

As many business owners have found out, Yelp isn’t always the most pleasant feature for any particular business — Often times, reviews can make or break your brand and they’re hard to get rid of if they’re terrible reviews. Fortunately for Facebook, reviews aren’t as detrimental to your business page, as the more reviews your page has the better, no matter the review.

You can even delete bad reviews, but reviews help with the credibility of your business— more often than not, Facebook users will look past the actual reviews and see the first business listed when searching. The amount of reviews help your business page get found faster when Facebookers use the professional

FACEBOOK BUSINESS PAGE VERIFICATION

Let’s say you’re managing a business page on Facebook for SEO and marketing purposes — In order to show up higher in search results (and Facebook’s ‘Professional Services’ feature), the business page MUST be verified. SO, the admin related to the company, who has access to their business phone will need to do this.

We’ve mapped out a step-by-step process that each business can follow, to verify their account. It only takes a maximum of five minutes or less.
STEP 1: Using your personal account on Facebook, click the drop-down arrow icon in the top right of the page, USE FACEBOOK AS (and select your business page).

STEP 2: Go to ‘SETTINGS’ under the name of the business page, find ‘PAGE VERIFICATION’ and select ‘EDIT.’

STEP 3: Enter your business number associated with your business page, and make sure you’re next to the phone. The Facebook elves will call immediately with a 4-DIGIT NUMBER.

STEP 4: Enter the 4-DIGIT NUMBER that Facebook gave you over the phone in the prompted box. Facebook DOES NOT give you a lot of time, so do it as soon as you get the code.

VOILA! YOU’RE DONE! If you’re not able to verify the code by phone number, you CAN verify by documents (anything with your business name, address and phone number) uploaded to the prompt (see STEP 3 image, ‘Verify by documents’).​

You’ll see a nifty little check mark next to the name of your business if you’ve followed the steps correctly, a way Facebook lets you know you’ve verified your business page.

We know social media management can be overwhelming, as well as time and energy-consuming. If you’re feeling lost and discouraged with the amount of time social media marketing requires, feel free to learn more about how Get Found Fast can help you market your business through both Facebook and Twitter, helping you build a brand across social media platforms. A strategic plan from Get Found Fast uilizing your business’ social sites can help you connect with new customers, establish your company culture online, and start a foundation of followers to build on for the future as social media evolves.