It took all of about 30 seconds to become addicted to reading friends’ status updates. Not something I’m proud of, mind you…yet, lately, has proven to be not-so-unusual…and facebook knows this. 

Aside from rummaging through friends’ photos like you’re spying on them from the outside, status updates provide a glimpse into the “Jone’s” lifestyle…which hike they went on this weekend, who’s house they watched the Hokies game at, where they took their kids for their birthday party, what they ate for breakfast, etc… We’ve all seen them, but now the game has changed! 

Facebook recently announced its newest capability – which now enables tagging of status updates for Friends, Pages, Events & Groups. Many of my friends have been asking “Why is that so important…seriously, who cares?”. Answer: we ALL should care, and here’s why: 

Facebook has become famous for its ability to allow photo tagging of friends, causing an extreme viral effect. We’ve all experienced it. We try to maintain semi-professional facebook page, while Timmy (the friend you haven’t seen in 20 years) thinks it’s hilarious to tag you & post a photo he generated from yearbookyourself.com to your page. Meanwhile, every single one of your coworkers, clients, and friends have all seen it before you have a chance to untag…been there, done that.

Now, though, facebook has taken it up a notch (a giant one, at that). Riding Twitter’s coattails by copying the already popular “@” Mentions style, will prove to pay off. This is fantastic for businesses & nonprofits who have already embraced Social Media Platforms as a way of attracting & engaging customers/supporters. Fantastic b/c it has unlimited potential for creating massive amounts of buzz…whether good or bad.

Example #1: I go to Debbie's Cakes & have her make a SpongeBob Squarepants cake for my daughters and she does a great job. I might post something like “Just picked up the SpongeBob cake for my daughters…WOW! Not only was she just as good as Ace of Cakes…she was drastically cheaper!”

or…

Example #2: Maybe I go to a local restaurant & receive not only the worst service, but also something…other than what I ordered in the food. The viral effect could be MUCH worse. “Seriously “local restaurant”? A roach in our spaghetti?!?! – never again eating there!”

Either example creates an instant viral tsunami that’s virtually uncontrollable. Just think…if you have 300 facebook friends who just saw either update & 20 of them decided to repost & tag? That’s a possible 4,300 sets of viewing eyes! (Assuming each of the “reposting” 20 friends have at least 200 friends each. (20 * 200 = 4,000. 4,000 + 300 original viewers = 4,300) Viral in it’s purest form!

The wording doesn’t change, but the effects do. It used to be (just last week) that someone would post a positive, or negative, update and we would all just read the name and move on…sometimes throwing in our 2 cents. Now, by tagging, we can just click on @MichaelHyatt and put a face to the name instantly. Thus, aiding in brand creation for that person, company, group, or non-profit…whether they want it or not. 

Plus…it’s crazy simple. Facebook has done all the work for you. In your “What’s on your mind” box, type the “@” symbol and directly after – start typing a friends name. In the pic below, I’m typing that I just finished coffee with Ryan Salvi and his name starts to auto-populate. 

Here, feel free to try: Go to your status update box and type “Just read a great blog about facebook changing the game…thanks @joshperrington!” - then post, that simple. You’ll love it…

As we’ve all heard “May the force be with you”…this new facebook tool is not to be taken lightly. As always, the power’s all yours…just use it wisely.

Disclaimer: @MichaelHyatt is an amazing individual & was merely used for purposes of explaining the example!