If you are a business owner, then you are already aware of the importance of social media to your enterprise. Without Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and your blog, there is a good chance that you would fade into internet nothingness – just another site amongst the hundreds of thousands that have been completely forgotten about.
While social media has provided business owners, even young, college aged entrepreneurs, with great and effective tools for reaching the masses on a shoe string budget without having to max out student credit cards, it has also brought about numerous other responsibilities. Not only do business owners now have to constantly worry about maintaining their online reputation, but they also have to constantly be on the look out for new sites and features that may make social media even more profitable for them.
Facebook has been the most recent to make a big change to its services. While the change itself is subtle, the implications are huge. As of Wednesday of next week, Facebook users will see a Subscribe button located next to their Send Message, Add Friend, and Poke buttons.
While this change doesn’t seem like anything to pay any attention to, it is fairly significant. By hitting the Subscribe button, Facebook users are able to follow the content of another Facebook account without actually Friending the person, business, or organization. In essence, Facebook has created a function to allow it to act like Twitter.
Now users won’t have to worry about another user seeing all of their pictures or personal information which happens when you Friend someone. They can instead silently sit on the sidelines and watch what a person or business has to offer without really becoming involved. This is sure to increase Facebook users involvement in the social media site as many simply don’t want to commit to 1,000 cyber friendships. They just want the info.
For business owners, this means that posting is more imperative than ever. Twitter is a constant stream on information, and with the Facebook Subscribe button, business owners should consider using their Wall in the same fashion as they would their Twitter account. Keep posting the occasional larger post, but don’t be afraid to keep users attention and your business in the forefront by posting short Twitter-like updates throughout the day.
Social networking sites have definitely gained prominence in the online world, and in their own fight to remain the industry leader, business owners are sure to see sites such as Facebook and Twitter begin to offer more similar features. Regardless of the next “big thing,” business owners need to be aware of any new social media changes, even those as small as a Subscribe button, if they wish to maintain high visibility.