Facebook Graph Search for you and your business

(MoneyWatch) Changes are afoot over at everyone's favorite social network, Facebook. By now, you've probably heard about Graph Search, even if you don't yet have access to it. The good news is that if you have a business, Graph Search delivers a bevy of new ways to analyze and act on data about your customers. If you're just a Facebook user, you can also exploit this new tool, while also learning how it exposes even more of your private information.

First of all, if you're not already using Graph Search, you'll want to get it. That's easy -- Facebook has a page where you can request access. It might take a few days, but you'll soon get a message inviting you to turn on the new search bar at the top of Facebook. From there, you can take a short tutorial and start making natural language searches that help you correlate and synthesize previously discrete data points about people all across Facebook.

So what are some things you can do with Graph Search? Here are some powerful searches you can perform today:

Learn about co-workers at your company, or get information about people who work at a partner or competitive company. Just ask Graph Search "People who work at [name of company]." Graph Search will helpfully offer suggestions of companies it knows about.

Find out who is friends with two different people. You can quickly find out people who have Facebook friends in common -- just type "People who are friends with [person A] and [person B]"

Discover demographic information about customers. There are a virtually limitless number of queries you can feed Graph Search to learn about your customers. For example, you can go with a generic search, like "things that have been liked by fans of Microsoft," or go for a more targeted search, like "Music that is liked by fans of Demand Media."

Get a list of all the places someone has visited. Thanks to Facebook's check-in service, you can see in surprising detail all the places that specific people -- or groups of people have gone. Try "Places that [person] have been," or "Places that fans of [company] have been" for that sort of detail. You can also use the map tool to refine the search; you can narrow it down just to restaurants, for example.

CBS

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Operators say social media gets marketing message out

A majority of U.S. restaurant operators are embracing social media as the preferred method of consumer marketing, new research from the National Restaurant Association has found.

The national survey, conducted in partnership with online marketing firm LivingSocial, found that 69 percent of all operator respondents participated in social media to publicize their restaurants, while 58 percent advertised in coupon booklets, 56 percent utilized direct-to-consumer email, 53 percent advertised in their local newspapers and 45 percent placed ads on the Internet.

According to Hudson Riehle, senior vice president of the NRA's Research & Knowledge Group, the use of online marketing as a communications tool will continue to grow going forward, and restaurateurs recognize its importance in attracting more customers to their respective businesses.

"More operators are seeing online marketing's strong potential to grow both revenue and customers," Riehle said. "As more tech-savvy consumers rely on computers and mobile phones to help them make their dining and entertainment choices, social media is becoming the go-to source for quick-hit information. Restaurateurs recognize this and are looking to tap into the growing trend."

Among fullservice operators, 73 percent said they used social media to publicize their restaurants' specials and services, while 47 percent found coupon booklets useful, 64 percent utilized direct-to-consumer emails, 56 percent advertised in their local newspapers and 45 percent placed ads on the Internet.

For quickservice operators, the findings varied somewhat. Among operators polled, 62 percent said they used social media as their preferred method of marketing communications, but 69 percent stated they advertised their businesses in coupon booklets, 49 percent sent direct-to-consumer emails, 51 percent advertised in their local newspapers and 45 percent advertised on the Internet.

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Social media gains as marketing tool for restaurants

In an attempt to increase customer base and dollar share, restaurateurs' use of social media as a marketing tool is starting to gain alongside other more traditional methods, such as television and newspaper advertising, research from the National Restaurant Association has found.

The new study determined that while many operators found traditional methods of communication, such as television and newspaper advertising, direct mailing and couponing, effective in increasing revenue, the use of social media is increasingly attracting customers.

Among restaurateur respondents who participated in the study, traditional methods of communication, such as television and newspaper advertising, couponing and direct-to-consumer mail, registered in the high 80- and 90-percentiles as an effective marketing tool.

Social media made a big push as well. Eighty-four percent of respondents said posting daily deals on social media sites served as an effective way to increase revenue.

Among quickservice operators, television and newspaper advertising, couponing and direct mail also registered in the high 80- and 90-percentiles. Nevertheless, the study found that 87 percent of respondents said social media was an effective way of communicating with customers and increasing revenue.

Among fullservice operators, television and newspaper advertising, couponing and direct-to-consumer mail registered in the high 80- and 90-percentiles as an effective marketing tool. Still, 84 percent respondents said posting daily deals on social media sites was an effective method of communicating with customers and increasing revenue.

The study was conducted in partnership with online marketing communications company LivingSocial and released earlier this month.

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