While Google may still be warding off businesses from its newly launched social network, Google+, its main rival Facebook is accepting them with arms wide open, as it recently unveiled its latest social media marketing tool, Facebook for Business.
The new feature isn't so much a platform for businesses to increase exposure and generate some brand recognition. Rather Facebook for Business serves as an educational tool of sorts, providing businesses, namely smaller companies, a wealth of information about how they can create a profile that works seamlessly into their content marketing strategies and can engage customers.
The website highlights several elements that are key to creating an effective Facebook page, including tips on how to use ads, sponsored stories and a consistent voice. Additionally, the page provides several “Helpful Links” for further information about launching a social media marketing campaign.
“Facebook allows small businesses to create rich social experiences, build lasting relationships and amplify the most powerful type of marketing – word of mouth,” a Facebook spokesperson told technology news provider GigaOm. “We created Facebook.com/business to make it even easier for people to reach these objectives and grow.”
One could speculate that Facebook's timing isn't likely a coincidence, as Google has been deleting business accounts from its own social network. However, as Brafton has reported, the search giant is making moves to introduce business pages to Google+, recently revealing that it is accelerating its Google+ for Business launch.
Regardless of the timing, the increased competition between Facebook and Google is likely to be good for businesses and their content marketing campaigns.
