The Impact of Facebook's Changes to Pages for your Business

For a while now, businesses and organizations - restaurants to retail - have been able to have their own Facebook page. Facebook users could become a "fan" of that company's page and receive updates as messages whenever the company wanted to promote something. The pages gave consumers a voice and the ability to show support and communicate back to that company, and it gave companies another avenue for showcasing their brand or even creating special offers.

Yesterday Facebook because the process of "upgrading" these Pages into "Public Profiles" - which will basically makes them look and work like regular Facebook people profiles - complete with tabs along the top and a strong focus on the Wall. We just launched our Facebook page this week, and while its a little annoying to have to change it so soon, the new layout is pretty useful.

Businesses have had a choice when it comes to their Facebook activities. They can set up a Facebook page and let it sit there with their logo, gathering dust and generally not being very active with their community. Or they can really leverage the strength of a social network by engaging their fans through regular updates on their discussion boards, their wall, notes, photos and messages. With the new layout, businesses must actively engage their fans or else their page could end up hurting their image & brand.

The new layout reduces the amount of brand equity the company can flex at first glance. In the old way, a company had a big space for their logo and could put Static FBML in both columns right at the top - letting them put any messaging they wanted above the fold. In the new layout, any unique branding (aside from the now-smaller picture) is below the fold, and all fans will see at first is their new and improved Facebook Wall.

With all the emphasis on the Wall, businesses need to keep their new public profile active so the page doesn't look abandoned. In other words, if a business is going to be on a social network, it needs to be social. To reinforce the point, realize this: with these changes, all your updates will appear in your fans' news feed, and their comments will appear to their friends. Your message will automatically spread throughout the social graph, and all you need to do is be friendly!

If you don't already have someone actively managing your Facebook profile, its time to start. Think of your business' profile like you would your own - show your fans the life of your business! Let your fans post photos of them using your products. Hold contests. Use events as marketing tools. Promote special Facebook-only deals or hold a Status Message Survey. But whatever you do, your new Facebook focus should be engaging your fans so they engage you - it's easier, and done right only serves to virally market your brand.

What is Twitter?

Now that the national news media is all over the hot new trend of Twitter (including Rick Sanchez's social-media-laden broadcast on CNN at 3pm), we get asked all the time "What is it?" We'll explore ways to use Twitter here but in the meantime ... Jon Stewart takes a stab at figuring it out. We thought you'd like this:

"Screw the Recession" - We're Launching our Web Consulting Business!

Today, we are staring into the face of the recession, bucking the weight of the economy and challenging ourselves to empower the digital dreams of even the smallest small business. Today, we are launching the Mighty Ants Internet Studio - a strategic consulting group dedicated to helping businesses of any size solve their complex problems and make their biggest ideas come alive online.

Whether they're just getting off the ground or if they need to revitalize their existing customer relationships - businesses can cut costs, make more money, and simplify life for customers and employees leveraging the Web. Mighty Ants is the perfect strategic partner for companies with open minds and entrepreneurs with big ideas -- we know what it's like to dream. And with a portfolio that includes major media firms, financial giants, start-ups and non-profits alike -- we know how to make it happen.

This is a rough time to start any business; our story is born of this recession and is replete with acquisitions, redundancies and layoffs at firms that were once so promising. We could have waited around and snagged staff jobs somewhere, but we love what we do and we're rather good at it, so we're working instead of waiting.We believe that the promise of business remains strong for the countless entrepreneurs who have and will strike out on their own to try something new. We believe the opportunities for countless more employees and freelancers can still be created - and we are going to do our part in keeping commerce going. Whether its by hiring freelancers or by helping clients increase revenue and save or create jobs accordingly - we want to be part of a new wave of young businesses that say "screw the recession."

So here we are, a tiny little Internet shop with some mighty goals. We've been going at it for a little while now, already helping new clients see their dreams come alive online. But there's always room for your idea, your business, your friend's dreams - so give us a shout. We'd love to hear all about you!