Over the past couple of weeks Facebook has added a lot of new features throughout the site. We’ve given you the top line for each new feature and included links to All Facebook, Inside Facebook and The Facebook Blog posts with more in depth information about each.
Personal
Hide Recent Activity [Source: All Facebook]: Gone are the days when you have to individually remove your recent activity on Facebook so that no one discover’s you’re actually looking through last weekend’s photos when you should be writing a blog post on new Facebook features (NOTE: I have never been guilty of such a heinous crime of procrastination!). Facebook has restored the ability for you to hide all your recent activity from other Facebook users.
Shortened @mention Tags [Source: Facebook]: I rarely call my friends by their full name so it is rather awkward when I have to do so in a Facebok Wall Post or comment. Fortunately, Facebook has made a few updates that make tagging easier and reflect natural language.
Business
Facebook Deals [Source: The Facebook Blog]: Facebook is continuing to expand their Deals offering and integrating it more and more throughout the site. If you’re lucky enough to live in one of the test cities: Atlanta, Austin, Dallas, San Diego and San Francisco then check out what deals are available at http://www.facebook.com/deals.
Groups [Source: All Facebook]: We all knew this day would come. It’s time to say goodbye to old Facebook Groups! If you’re still using the old Facebook Groups (trust me the new version is infinitely better) then you want to start migrating now.
Page Suggestions [Source: Inside Facebook]: With the past site revamps Facebook has really buried the Page Suggestions feature to the point that I stopped recommending it as a way to promote your page. Perhaps with these new tweaks the feature will regain prominence.
Send Button [Source: Inside Facebook]: Facebook likes (no pun intended) to name, remove, and rename their buttons quite often and it can get rather confusing. First there was like, then share, then share left and there was just like again and now we have send. The good news is that Facebook is paying attention to users’ behavior and adapting to what helps spread content the best.
Ads
Ad Analytics [Source: Inside Facebook]: Facebook is adding some amazing new data points to its ad analytics which reflect how ads are displayed on Facebook and emphasize the social aspect of Facebook ads rather than just mimicking the data provided with search ads. I’m most excited at the prospect of being able to see exactly how many new likes were acquired from an ad. This feature is just starting to be rolled out so be on the look out for it soon.
Sponsored Stories [Source: All Facebook]: Though Facebook is not exactly calling these “ads” despite the fact that they live within the advertisement dashboard on Facebook, these “sponsored stories” are a great way of spreading the word about your Page/App/Place by promoting social activity (John Doe likes your page) and content (Mom and Pop’s Barber Shop posted this link).
Ad Targeting [Source: Inside Facebook]: For me, filling out the “likes and interests” portion of ad targeting with keywords is like a big game of word association and I’m a huge word geek. For those who haven’t mastered the keyword game, Facebook has introduced Broad Category Targeting.
Creative Library [Source: Inside Facebook]: Facebook has introduced the “Creative Library” as a great visual way to view your entire catalog of ads with image, headline and copy. You can view the ads individually, edit them and even create a new ad using old ad images and copy in just one click.
Have you used any of the new features yet? Which have you found to be the most useful?
Post written by Biana Bakman aka @bianalog. To learn more from fbadz.com, become a fan!