Facebook friends with benefits…

Aug 2013

Facebook is putting the ‘wisdom of friends’ back at the centre of its planning strategy.  Facebook’s logic is sound… it focuses on trust and the belief that friends like similar things.  Think of it as the ultimate form of reference selling!

This renewed focus on the personal network as a marketing tool, is an interesting announcement.  The social media giant is so convinced that it’s on to a good thing, it has ‘verticalised’ its service offering with a focus on key verticals or sectors.  The idea is to help businesses to find the right people.  More specifically, the sort of people who will be interested in your product or service.

The travel industry is set to become a major focus for Facebook in the future. Lee McCabe, Facebook’s new head of travel explains, “A long time ago, we used to get holiday inspiration, or recommendations, from our friends, in the pub, or at a dinner party. Then along came the travel agent. Then came the online travel agencies and Google. But these were the influences of algorithms, not from experts.”

McCabe argues that this process has now come full circle.  Through Facebook, people can harness the wisdom of crowds and the wisdom of friends.  The key difference according to McCabe is that this time, that advice is always available because it is online 247.

The launch of Facebook’s newest and biggest project, Graph Search, looks set to have a major impact. Graph Search allows users to find things that their friends “like”.  They can discover restaurants and places recommended by others, simply by typing in “hotels in Paris visited by my friends” for example.

McCabe thinks the new offering will be a game changer for hotels.  There will also be a mobile version, called Nearby, coming to the UK soon, which again will list places close by, based on aspects such as friends’ recommendations, check-ins and likes.

Obtaining the right ‘likes’ online is therefore far more important for businesses than gaining the highest number of likes. Consequently, an increased focus on ‘quality’ followers should result in significant returns.  We watch these new developments with interest…