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The only thing wrong with f8 in my humble opinion is the millions of users whinging about it.
It’s been weeks since our once familiar Wall started showing recent and relevant updates rather than everything posted by every bugger you haven’t yet ‘hidden’ (come on we all do it) and that we were blessed with a handy Twiteresque 'ticker' down the right-hand side, yet I’m still subjected to a daily barrage of updates (moans) from people with nothing better to do with their day.
It’s clear that most people simply do not like having their cheese moved, but with the beautiful Facebook Timeline soon to be rolled out I can’t help but stand up in defence of Zukerberg and his genius.
I cried, I really did. It’s like emotional people. And if you haven’t seen it yet, watch Donald Draper tell it like it is.
But what does new Facebook mean for b2b marketers?
Well as yet we're still in the dark about how the new features will impact Pages. Nevertheless there have been hints that Facebook plans to make Pages more consistent with the new Timeline, so burying our heads in the sand and hoping for a revival of Facebook circa 2004 probably isn't the best plan of attack.
What Timeline does offer businesses (apart from a way to stalk prospective customers who haven't yet discovered how to set their Timelines to private) is a way to engage. Used intelligently Timeline provides us with a platform to make the story of our company emotional. It provides that personal touch we are all striving for as we aim for more p2p (person-to-person) relationships with our customers.
Emotion aside however, it's probably the less glamorous features that will have the biggest impact on businesses. Think of the new 'Subscribe' option for example. No longer do you need to be friends with someone to see their news feed. With the option to subscribe users can open up the parts of their profile they are comfortable sharing with non-friends (subscribers). Again it's all a bit Twitter, but it offers b2b marketers a greater level of insight into what potential customers are talking about than ever before. And let's face it people are more likely to openly publicise their thoughts on the latest business thinking than what their cat had for tea (let's hope so at least), offering greater opportunities to build more professional Facebook networks.
Another development that will really open up opportunities for b2b marketers is Open Graph. In simple terms, Open Graph provides a quick, easy way for web visitors to approve content and place it on their FB profiles, and it’s something we’ve been doing with 'like' buttons for a while now.
New Facebook however plans to take such sharing to the next level with any application integrated into a user’s Facebook account able to post their activity, unprompted, to their friends’ ticker as it’s actually happening. Until now for example, if someone was reading your content and nodding in agreement with your sage words, there would be no way for them to share this without actively 'liking' or commenting on your wall. Now however a news application could post an update on what they are reading to their ticker at anytime - letting their friends click and read the same article - and then share with their friends.
But with all the noise created by the new Facebook features, one thing's for sure, b2b marketers will need to think more carefully about how to stand out from the crowd. Throwing together a page and encouraging people to 'Like' it simply won't cut it. With a raft of new tools and applications you're going to need to think strategy.
