You’d think that the king of social media would be a bit more, well, social. Fortunately, some recent developments and updates are moving at warp speed in that direction. The simple action of being able to edit your postings from Android phones is a much welcome change, and has iOS users drooling (whether they’ll admit it or not). Everyone has posted something with an embarrassing typo or autocorrect fail—and now you can finally edit from an Android phone instead of deleting and starting over.
What else is new in the social corner of the social media leader? Hashtags have been used since the onset of Twitter pretty much everywhere from Facebook to everyday #slang. There’s no denying that people don’t use them correctly, but Facebook has given in and taken charge with comprehensive hashtag integration. However, this isn’t out of the goodness of their <3, since it will tempt users to stay logged in longer and see even more ads.
That Post Was So Insightful
The new Facebook Insights is a great tool for both Page owners and developers, offering up data and metrics regarding content—it’s kind of like Google Analytics for Facebook. You can check out trends, usage, see demographics and are basically given invaluable marketing data to improve your business on Facebook. Page administrators, domain administrators and app owners can find all of this information on the Insights Dashboard.
Insights is all about helping you better share and pinpoint your audience. To get started, you can claim your domain via an “association” with any Facebook app you manage or via your account. Let as many (or as few) people have access to these metrics as you’d “like.”
A Graph-tifying Experience
Part of being social is simply being able to find what you’re looking for, or stumbling across something you’d find interesting. But people are impatient. The Graph Search began including status updates and posts in September 2013, making it simple to stalk (ahem, search) for check-ins, photo captions and comments. Search for anything at all, whether you want to know “Posts about Kim Kardashian from my friends” (no judgment) or “Posts from the Statue of Liberty.”
Of course, sometimes all you want to do is bring it home—and Home is where the status updates are. In 2013, Facebook introduced a new kind of Home, which can turn Android phones into a “living, social phone,” according to Facebook. It’s not an app and it’s not an operating system; it’s a “cover feed” complete with “chat heads” to basically make Facebook p’wn your phone. To sweeten the deal, Facebook is playing nice and letting the competition including Flickr, Pinterest, Tumblr and of course the recently snatched Instagram move on Home, too.
It’s Not All Fun and Games
Facebook is making a valiant effort and great strides in upping the social aspect of the most beloved social network. But you can still get on the giant’s bad side. For those who engage in schemes like trading likes or other Facebook policy violations, a ban might be headed your way. Luring in unengaged users dings Facebook’s website rating, and nobody messes with their “status.”
Phishing, spam, bullying, graphic content, pornography and other big no-no’s are being taken seriously. Facebook actually has quite a few rules, policies and terms of use that most people have never looked at closely, but it’s worth a scan, especially if you’re a business. Otherwise, dive in and enjoy the social movement that’s bringing more customers right to your virtual doorstep.