5 Effective Ways to Harness the Power of Facebook Search for Marketing Success
Confessions and Transitions: The Evolution of Facebook Graph Search
Back in 2013, the introduction of Facebook Graph Search sparked mixed feelings. Many, including myself, were underwhelmed with the lengthy process of navigating from Facebook Graph Search, through a business page, and onto a website, considering how unlikely it was that numerous users would complete such an extensive route.
As it turns out, I wasn’t alone in these sentiments. Facebook Graph Search faced certain limitations which were not overlooked by various observers. Fortunately, Facebook rectified this issue by resolving the mobile problem and incorporating keyword functionality in 2014.
How MKTG Plan capitalized on Facebook’s Integrated Keyword Functionality
This move by Facebook led to elation among marketers, including my team at MKTG Plan. We eagerly adopted Facebook Graph Search into our marketing approach. However, in 2019, amid rising data privacy concerns, Facebook discretely dismantled much of the Graph Search Functionalities. Consequently, they proclaimed their decision to temporarily pause some aspects of graph search and prioritize enhancing keyword search.
The associated silver lining is that consumers have the assurance that only the content they wish to be public will actually be public. Simultaneously, it’s encouraging to know that with improved keyword searches, any public content can be easily located. This includes content from pages, public groups, public profiles, and posts marked as “public”.
This pivotal understanding of how to utilize Facebook’s search enables you, as a marketer, to optimize your content on Facebook. Consequently, your content can be easily found by your target audience. As a result, this skill can be a potent Facebook marketing strategy. Let’s take a deeper dive into this topic.
Decoding Facebook’s Graph Search and Its Transition to Keyword Search
Although the formal functionality of Facebook’s Graph Search is history, the capability it gave marketers to bring forth past posts from friends and pages, irrespective of their age, is still cherished. For marketers, the exciting news is that if their posts are relevant to their audience, these can still be easily located while searching related topics.
Unveiling the Operation of Facebook Search
Facebook’s recent update empowers users to search for people, posts, photos, places, pages, groups, apps, and events, using any keywords they desire.
For instance, if you aim to have a look at images from a wedding, you can employ key terms relevant to the event. Although the chances of achieving desired results may not always be 100%, you have the liberty to experiment with various keyword combinations to search for specific content.
For marketers, you would likely not be looking for wedding pictures as part of your web design and digital marketing strategy. So, let’s take the MKTG Plan’s blog as an example. This can be searched for via the search bar, accessible on both desktops and mobile devices.
It’s worth noting that Facebook might present your search results in a variety of ways. Typically, results are grouped according to their connection relevance with you, not considering recency.
If you have a clear idea of what you’re searching for, you may utilize the menu on the left to filter by most post types:
All, Posts, People, Photos, Videos, Marketplace, Pages, Places, Groups, and Events.
Moreover, these categories can be further employed to refine your filters and get even more detailed results.
Delving into Additional Facebook Search Filters
On both desktop and mobile versions of Facebook, if you click on the posts filter, more filters will pop up underneath.
This further diversifies your search capabilities, enabling you to hone in on recent posts, posts you’ve seen before, or posts from a specific year, or the geographical area. Furthermore, you can customize content based on the source, including yourself, your friends, your groups and pages, or public posts.
However, not many results may appear with certain keywords if your posts do not explicitly include them. As a key finding, it’s crucial to incorporate SEO strategies into posts to ensure that they can be discovered easily through search functions.
Whom Does Facebook Search Cater To?
Like Facebook Graph Search, the search function is primarily available to individuals logged into their Facebook accounts, either through desktop or mobile apps.
Although you can find some Facebook pages via your preferred search engine, to fully maximize the utility of Facebook (and its search functionality), it’s beneficial to be logged into your account. This practice aligns with the search results being based on your interactions within Facebook.
In terms of privacy, with Facebook’s renewed privacy policies, posts marked as private or intended only for friends will not be visible to users outside your network. Nonetheless, it’s a beneficial practice to review your privacy settings periodically to ensure the desired level of content visibility.
Employing Facebook Search as a Marketer: Top Five Approaches
Grasp the interests of your audience.
Before leveraging Facebook search and start optimizing your posts, it’s crucial to comprehend your audience, their hangout spots, and interests. It’s advisable to create a comprehensive persona, join relevant groups, and pay attention to key questions and phrases.
Amplify your Evergreen creation and promotion
Make use of Facebook by creating more blog posts and videos around evergreen topics, incorporating these links into your posts. This way, even years later, your posts remain relevant and discoverable.
Improve your posts with keywords, titles, and short summaries
Incorporate specific language into your posts, use strategic keywords applicable to your web design and digital marketing campaign to optimize visibility in Facebook search.
Add in more engagement-driven content
The more people interact with your posts, the more they will likely be displayed by the algorithm. Engage existing followers and attract new ones by testing various content and post types to achieve maximum reach and visibility.
Ensure your website is completely mobile optimized
With a majority of users accessing Facebook via mobile devices, it’s crucial to ensure your website provides an optimum mobile experience to retain their interest and reduce bounce rates.
To Summarize
Even though the use of Facebook Graph Search is technically no longer an option, the ability to optimize content for discovery through Facebook search is an effective inbound marketing strategy for firms such as MKTG Plan. It’s an excellent avenue to stand out from the crowd and fully utilize the platform’s capabilities for the promotion of their web design skills or SEO plans.
Facebook Search: A Paradigm Shift for Marketers and Consumers Alike
Understanding and effectively using the Facebook search function is a game-changer for marketers, including our team at MKTG Plan. Misconceptions around Facebook search can lead many marketers to overlook its potential. However, refined strategies can make it a potent tool for reaching target audiences.
Remember, the optimization of your content on Facebook for improved searchability results in easier access for your ideal audience. This simple yet profoundly impactful approach should be a key component of your Facebook marketing strategy.
Reviving the Spirit of Facebook’s Graph Search
Although Facebook’s Graph Search is technically gone, its essence remains oddly familiar in today’s Facebook search. Remember how marketers loved the capability for Graph Search to pull up any old post from friends or pages, regardless of how dated it may be?
The good news is, if your content continues to resonate with your audience and their search habits, they can easily find it during their Facebook searches. This opens up a golden opportunity to actively engage with people seeking answers to problems that your product or service addresses.
Demystifying the mechanism of Facebook Search?
Facebook’s current update allows users to perform searches for people, posts, photos, places, pages, groups, apps, and events using any keywords they deem fit.
Let’s assume you are searching for pictures from your cousin Shirley’s wedding. You can simply search for “Shirley Wedding” and get relevant results. You are likely to get results for people you know first, followed by other public best-fit results, including those geographically near to you.
For marketers, you may be interested in more specific searches applicable to your web design and digital marketing campaigns, rather than casual searches for a wedding.
Deep-diving into Advanced Facebook Search Filters?
To enhance the user experience, users can now utilize additional Facebook search filters. Clicking on the posts filter results in more filters appearing underneath it, both on desktop and mobile versions of the Facebook app.
This enhances user search capabilities and gives them the ability to search for recent posts, posts they’ve seen before, posts from a specific year or location, and even customize content based on the source. Take advantage of these advanced features to narrow down your search results and find the most relevant content quickly.
Having a critical understanding of Facebook’s search function enables smarter marketers, like our teams at MKTG Plan, to leverage the feature to their advantage and optimize their content for improved visibility.
Who can use Facebook search?
Primarily, Facebook search is only available to individuals logged into their Facebook accounts, accessible through either desktop or mobile apps. While users can find some Facebook pages through their preferred search engine like Google, the comprehensive benefits of Facebook search become evident when logged into a Facebook account. Thus aggregate user interactions on Facebook feed into enhancing the search experience.
Reassurance around Facebook’s Privacy Policies
Circling back on privacy expectations, Facebook has revamped its privacy policies to make sure that only content defined as ‘public’ by the user will be visible outside their network. It is always recommended for users to familiarize themselves with Facebook’s privacy settings and to review them regularly.
How to Gain Traction using Facebook Search as a Marketer
1. Understand Your Audience
First, you need to have a deep comprehension of your target audience. It’s important to know their needs, questions, and where they spend most of their time. This involves creating a comprehensive persona and joining relevant Facebook groups where you can learn about their common queries or concerns.
2. Evergreen Content Creation
Put more effort into creating evergreen content – content that remains relevant and quality over time – and sharing them on Facebook. Even years later, your post will still be relevant and easily discoverable to customers who are searching for related content.
3. Keyword Optimization, Titles, and Summaries
Choose a specific language and keywords to use in your posts. These should be aligned with your web design or digital marketing campaigns in order to be easily discovered by the Facebook search algorithm.
4. Engage Audience
The more users interact with your Facebook posts, the more they will be presented by the algorithm. This means that it’s key to try out different types of content to attract and retain user attention, leading to increased engagement.
5. Optimize your Website for Mobile
With the majority of Facebook users accessing the platform via mobile devices, it’s of utmost importance that your website is fully mobile-optimized. This will ensure that users have a smooth experience when they navigate from Facebook to your website.
Conclusion:
To put it simply, Facebook search, even with the absence of the formerly beloved Graph Search, offers a substantial possibility for a well-executed inbound marketing strategy. For seasoned and smart marketing teams such as MKTG Plan, it comes as an awesome opportunity to stir away from the chaos, stand out and utilize the platform’s capabilities to boost web design or SEO initiatives. However, just like with any great power, the right knowledge and careful application of Facebook search is crucial to harvesting its full potential.