You’ve probably heard the question at least once in the past year, as the social networking site Facebook has gone from phenomenon to lexicon and has revolutionized connection in much the same way Google revolutionized search. But just as Google is about more than finding a great recipe for cornbread stuffing this holiday season, Facebook offers more than the voyeuristic pleasure of seeing that your ex has gained 30 pounds and taken up candle-making as a hobby.
There are more than 37 million people on Facebook in the United States alone, and almost half of them are over 25. And if you’re on Facebook, you know that when you sign up you are asked information ranging from where you live to where you went to school to what your relationship status is at the moment. You can enter your interests and easily share your newfound passion for, say, scuba diving with everyone you know with just a few taps on the keyboard.
And all of this information is used to help the wise folks at Facebook connect their advertisers with people who might actually want the things they’re trying to sell. Google has dominated search advertising by providing ads with the relevance and appearance of content, and with a growing critical mass, Facebook is poised to do the same thing and then some.
Take this example: one of the (add)venturists recently got married, and throughout her months of wedding prep and planning, she regularly updated her Facebook profile to let her friends know how things were going. She couldn’t help but notice that all along the right-hand side of her screen these ads for wedding photographers, wedding planners, and wedding cakes kept appearing. Brilliant, right? Now multiply this brilliance by the all those Facebook account holders out there and all the information available about them and think about your own business.
So you may be thinking, but I have a Web site, so what’s the point of being on Facebook? The point is partly the targeting that Facebook allows, but it is also those friends, the ones our (add)venturist was updating with details on her wedding and for whom she immediately changed her name and her profile picture as soon as she got hitched. They’re what puts the social and the network in Social Network. Network, because through Facebook you get that “and she told two friends, and she told two friends, and she told two friends” effect – remember that commercial from the 1980s? Everything someone does – including becoming a fan of your company’s Facebook page – is immediately reported to all their friends.
And then the power of Social kicks in; how many times have you checked out a movie or a restaurant because a friend of yours had recently done so? The same force is at work here. The other social aspect is the way you are able to connect with “friends” and “fans” on Facebook – your company takes on an immediate relevance just by being there, and because you can constantly and instantly update people in an authentic way, you are able to connect with customers like never before.
So, (add)ventures is inviting you to connect with us on Facebook – and you can do it even if you don’t have a Facebook account yet. Come check us out on Facebook and see how we’re using New Media to share our culture and our spirit, and to give you an inside look at (add)ventureland and the (add)venturists who create the magic that solves problems and makes people happy. We hope you’ll become a fan and share your favorite (add)ventures experiences. We also think you might get inspired to incorporate Facebook into how you reach out to the people in your world. Let us know. We’ll be glad to help.
