Many people would argue that there is too much social media in the lives of people these days, but Facebook doesn’t want to hear it. After a year of testing, there indications that Facebook will soon launch their Facebook at Work platform.
The system will make it easier for people to use Facebook at work (as the name implies) while keeping their personal lives separate. While this may seem like an HR sort of thing, there are reasons this program can be useful for marketers.
In what may be stab at LinkedIn, Facebook is reportedly planning to launch a modified version of the social media platform that’s more business oriented. It contains about 95 percent of the core of Facebook, with some additions (e.g. employee groups) and omissions (e.g no Candy Crush) to improve the usefulness for business owners.
According to reports, “The new version allows users to create a work account separate from their personal account, and allows interaction between coworkers. Anything shared with fellow workers will only be visible within the company. Company admins can view their company’s Facebook at Work insights, which include employee signup, group and posting activity.”
Facebook at Work would make an excellent advertising tool, though it appears Facebook wants to make money directly from the modified platform. Reports say the company will charge small fees for additional tools and services, such as analytics and support.
Facebook at Work would also be useful for people who handle social media accounts for a business as part of their job. At present, if a business wants a team member to have access to the company’s social media page, they would have to give rights to the employee’s personal account. This works well enough, but it can be aggravating for people who don’t want to mix their personal and business interactions.
Marketers may also be able to use the new audiences created by Facebook at Work profiles. It becomes a lot easier for Facebook to determine things about their users when they’re in groups like this. For example, Facebook could eventually offer a targeting option for Procurement Officers, that targets all the people they know have that position, or something similar, based on their organization charts in Facebook at Work.
While it’s hard to speculate on Facebook’s plan before the product is released, it seems fair to assume that they want to take a nibble at some of LinkedIn’s market share with the business and professional community.
Facebook has always been very business friendly, but that has mostly been in regards to business to consumer interaction. Facebook at Work has the potential to make the platform more useful for business to business interactions as well as internal communications.
The rumor mill suggests that Facebook at Work will launch early in 2016. We’ll post more information as it becomes available. For more information about changes at Facebook, read this article on