More than ever, prospects are making purchasing decisions based on their interaction with brands and recommendations from peers. They are most likely to interact with brands and each other on social networks…especially Facebook where they spend hours on end.  Nielsen reported that in January, U.S. consumers spent a staggering seven hours a month on Facebook!

It is hard for marketers to keep up with all the developments on Facebook, let alone in the social universe. Here is a roundup of some recent Facebook changes and useful Facebook utilities and statistics and their implications on business.

11 Facebook Features & Statistics Businesses Can leverage:

1. General search engine queries on Facebook are growing (Google’s nemesis?)
2. Facebook is being used for everyday tasks like e-mail, instant messaging, reading news, blogs, RSS feeds, search and shopping
3. FB  also launched a documents product with Microsoft: Docs.com designed to share and collaborate online
4. Many companies are allowing consumers to browse and purchase directly from their Fan-page (ex: 1800-Flowers)
5. FB  is planning on making its core apps (email etc.)  more robust
6. It has more than 400M “users” worldwide and growing everyday
7. Users can now add topics, products or content they like on other sites to their Facebook profiles!
8. Users can thumbs-up individual pages with one click and publish that to Facebook (real time profile changes)
9. Open social graph will lead to personalized web experiences and publishers will be able use behavioral targeting
10. Recommendation engines will provide users relevant content with implications on ad targeting
11. Website publishers will have access to analytics from Facebook’s insights on products and brands

All this is good news for businesses and highlights the importance of having a strong web and social presence. It is an opportunity to turn fans into ambassadors! Unless there is a drastic  shift in the marketing mindset and companies react quickly there will be many missed opportunities.

Contextual targeting based on search behavior is passé. It’s going to be all about social relationships between users and brands and how fast companies are able to action the behavioral insights that these social graphs provide.

Is your business geared to keep up with real-time data and benefit from the deluge of pertinent statistics directly related to your brand? Is your website prepared to be “Liked” by Facebook users? Does your Facebook page engage the users enough for referral to their friends? Are highly targeted Facebook ads part of your marketing mix?

Finally, is your business socially evolved enough to take advantage of all these new social media opportunities?

PR: wait… I: wait… L: wait… LD: wait… I: wait… wait… Rank: wait… Traffic: wait… Price: wait… I: wait… Top: wait… C: wait…

Harp Social has the certified expertise, tools and social media acumen to take your SEO and social media marketing campaigns to the next level. Find out how we can help you use search marketing and social media more effectively for your business. Email or call 630.691.9500 today to get started today!

Cyma Saeed is a certified Internet Marketing professional and search marketing specialist for Harp Interactive and Harp Social. Cyma's professional experience includes working for international advertising agencies and teaching copywriting and communication courses.