Facebook Changes Change Facebook Business

Ok, I have been raving on the benefits of using Facebook for business.  Well, some of it is still true.  But with recent changes some of the advice and tips given is changing – nearly as fast as Facebook is.  The newest thing on Facebook is their TimeLine, which has its good points and bad points.  So let’s cover a few of those so you know how it affects you both personally and in your business.

First of all, remember that spat you had with your best friend a month or two ago?  With TimeLine, that little argument might show up on your Wall again.  The things you thought were buried in the jumble of new posts from your friends might pop up again in your TimeLine, which is basically a chronological history of your Facebook history.  This could be good for your business in bringing up your branding information, but bad if you have a history of complaints against your business.  Think back to what your status was a month ago, and what comments, “likes,” and “unlikes” you got.  Those all could come back to either help you or haunt you.

The other part of this major change is that Facebook basically takes over your internet experience, allowing you to add apps that are approved by Facebook, and putting your “inside the box.”  The good news for your business is that there are 800,000,000 users on Facebook.  Targeting them for your business, however, is not going to be that easy.

The main take on this update is that you need to be careful of the apps you add, since everyone can see and access them from your TimeLine.  Be careful who you add as a “friend,” since that will also be made public, and double-check your privacy settings in order to protect your business.  Otherwise, once all of us get used to this change, we’ll be just fine.