About two-thirds of the economy is now based on peer recommendations, according to McKinsey & Associates.
That percentage is likely to grow with the recent announcement of Facebook Graph Search, a game changer in how consumers find peer recommendations and a direct affront to Yelp and Google.
Basically, with Graph Search (which I am currently beta testing for Facebook), a person can quickly check his or her Facebook friends’ views on certain brands, movies, restaurants, etc., with a quick click. Let’s say you are a consumer considering doing business with Acme Tire. In a matter of seconds, you can find out if any of your Facebook friends “like” Acme Tire. You can then send them a direct message asking them about their experiences with the dealer.
This is so much better than reading reviews on Yelp from people you’ve never met. And it will get even better! In the future, Graph Search will find wall comments from your friends, not just whether they like the brand page or not.
According to searchengine.com, Facebook Graph Search, “stands a good chance of being the first true disruptor of traditional search behaviors. Traditional search engines return relevant content from the entire web; Facebook’s Graph Search returns highly personalized content from the searcher’s own personal network (social graph). By tapping into a searcher’s social graph, Facebook searches for people, photos, video pages, places, etc.; anything shared publicly or shared with the person conducting the search on Facebook is considered.”
What Should You Do
First, if you are a multi-store business, continue to manage your corporate page but also build out pages for each store location. Make sure the store information is complete and correct, and links to your corporate page. This way, when a consumer does a Graph Search for a particular Zip code, they will find complete information about your store in that Zip code.
When a consumer attempts to check in to a business and that business doesn’t have an existing Facebook page, Facebook will create a “place” for you. This can result in duplicate listings and consumer confusion. You can ask Facebook to delete these duplicate pages.
Secondly, build your fan base! The more fans you have, the more potential references you will have in Graph Search results. Also, engage with your fans; the more interactions a page receives the more likely it will appear in Graph Search results.
Most marketers knew instinctively that having more Facebook fans (as long as they are quality fans) is a good thing! With the introduction of Graph Search, there is no doubt that having a lot of engaged Facebooks fans will increase your business through positive word of mouth.
As I continue to beta test Graph Search, I will keep everyone updated on new developments.
Happy marketing!
Christine Taylor is vice president of social media marketing for JTMarCom,a Nashville-based marketing agency that helps companies with online reputation management and integration of social media into their traditional marketing programs. With a combined 35 years of experience in the tire industry, the agency places a special emphasis on working with tire and automotive aftermarket companies. Follow Christine on Facebook and Twitter (@chrisgtaylor). She can also be reached at 615-714-5469.
