So it seems Facebook has been taking the limelight in Internet circles at the moment for a litany of updates, some good, some bad, and some.. well, indifferent. Let’s talk about what you need to know and what you can forget.

New Facebook Privacy Options

UGH.  MORE privacy problems coming out of Facebook – and again, the problem isn’t that Facebook is changing the rules, it is that you’re automatically opted-in to the data exposure, instead of being opted-out by default.  (Translation: you’re in the new program unless you say no.)

The new feature is the “Instant Personalization Pilot” project.  What happens is that when you go to any of one of Facebook’s partner websites (currently Yelp, Pandoa, and Microsoftdocs.com but more coming), Facebook will share your name, personal interests, picture, gender and names of your friends with that website.  It means for highly targeted advertising, of course, but also means your Facebook data is finding its way winging across the world wide web.

To turn this off, simple:

• Click on Account, then Privacy Setting
• Click Applications and Websites
• Click on “Edit Settings” next to Instant Personalization
• Untick the box as shown:

It might be worth mentioning this to your Facebook Fans.

Facebook Social Plugins

In better social news, Facebook is coming to a website near you – literally!  The site has released a number of “social plugins”, which can help integrate Facebook into your website presence.  The official page to download the plugins:

http://developers.facebook.com/plugins

So, what are these plugins? Here’s a run down of the most interesting:

Like Button:  You can incorporate a ‘like’ button on your website pages, so users can instantly share their page with their Facebook friends.   By choosing ‘Like’, the page would appear in the user’s Facebook newsfeed.  Here’s an example of what a page looks like with the like button:

This could be an interesting addition to your blog articles and news pieces if you feel you have a lot of customers who are Facebook users.  However, do not add this button to your sales pages.  It’s just one more distraction when you want people focused on the purchasing decision.  (And who would “like” a page with your rate card or services anyway?).  It’s a shame you can’t customise the look of the widget much – it’s kind of ugly, if your font/colors aren’t like Facebooks.

Like Box:  This is what the “Fan Page” box used to be.  The title of the button has changed from “Fan” to “Like” but otherwise it hasn’t changed.  Thankfully it doesn’t say a ‘like box’ – not the best branding choice!

Recommendations:  This little widget shows users suggestions on other pages on the site based on Facebook user activity.  Unless you have a LOT of Facebook traffic, I would not implement this – there are far better ‘recommended’ page widgets, such as LinkWithin or Outbrain.

Comments Box:  If you’ve got comments enabled on your blog, then you replace that with a Facebook comments widget.  I don’t recommend this widget either, because if a visitor isn’t a Facebook user, it looks awful.  Here’s the standard view though:

To summarise…  Feel free to check out the plugins, but I would advise a cautious approach.

Facebook Profile Changes

One last note about Facebook profile changes.  Facebook is making user’s interests and pages much more visible on your profile, so at some point when you log into Facebook it will ask you to link your profile with your interests.  You can read more about this on the official Facebook blog, but the bottom line is you can’t refuse – this is the new profile functionality.  What I think this means:

• This is great for advertisers; I suspect the ultra-fine targeting features of Facebook will only get more refined.
• This is bad for fan pages counts; I suspect that users who were only “being nice” will flee when it means your logo will be emblazoned on their profile.

My oh my, how the world of Facebook continues to evolve.  I still think this is a viable outlet for small businesses to connect with their community, but be sure you’re hanging out here in the TOP community for the latest changes.

To Learn More

Still trying to master Facebook?  Haven’t even dipped your toes in the water?  Then be sure to check out our Facebook resources, which include our one hour “why Facebook” podcast, Facebook Fan page tips and tricks, and other resources.  Check it out!

Regardless whether you’ve got a Facebook presence already or just starting out, we’ve just released a new free TOP Secrets guide you might be interested in: Facebook for Travel and Tourism.

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It seems there is always something to talk about with regards to Facebook!  This week it is a quick overview on two ways to better target your Facebook Fan page updates. (If you are still unsure whether to have a fan page or a group, check out our difference between a Facebook Fan Page and a Facebook Group.)

A Brief Side Note of Caution:  In case you missed it, Facebook has changed their rules on contests and promotions.  If you run promotions on Facebook, then please stop and take a minute to read the revised guidelines; you could be subject to financial penalties (fees!) if you run contests on Facebook.
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Facebook recently changed their algorithm to alter the way users view updates and status changes from their friends and fan pages they follow.  (If you are still unsure whether to have a fan page or a group, check out our difference between a Facebook Fan Page and a Facebook Group.)

Here’s what the new screen looks like:

Your updates now default into the ‘news feed’ option.’

News Feed vs. Live Feed

The new news feed uses a Facebook algorithm to show you the updates you’re “most likely” to be interested in.  This is judged by number of likes, the number of times you’ve interacted with the person/fan page, and other factors.
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We get this question a lot so it’s worth getting things cleared up straight away.  What exactly is the difference between a Facebook Fan Page (also known as a Business Page) versus a Facebook Group?

I’ve put together the following table that hopefully makes it crystal clear what you get (or don’t) in each option.

In almost all cases, my vote goes for fan pages, if for no other reason than they’re indexed by the search engines (e.g. Google reads them).  Groups give you more control but at higher admin costs – and if the features in a Facebook Group is what you want, you’d be well placed to look elsewhere, like Ning, to be honest.

Learn More

Need some help with the nuts and bolts of Facebook? Why not work one-on-one with us to build your online community? Whether it’s just Facebook or Flickr too, we’ve got the resources and knowledge to help you build a bigger, better online community.

Photo by jaycameron