It’s OK to Use Facebook at Work

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This post title is a little play on words. Facebook has a service called Facebook at Work. It is a private network just for businesses. It is one thing that has me super excited lately. Why? Because this is a game changer for small business productivity.

If you work in an enterprise level company there are tons of great ways to communicate. However, if you’re in a small business you have to piece meal together a communication system. This could include apps, websites and more. Its a pain to remember where you have to post things and reposed.

What is Facebook at Work? I have yet to set eyes on the service because it has been in beta testing with larger organizations. Everything I have read and seen is it’s a private network for your business. It’s set up just like Facebook. But unlike regular Facebook, this will just have people that are invited. It is not tied to your public Facebook account. It allows you to post , get feed back and share ideas in a familiar way. Since most people already know Facebook you don’t have a large learning curve in how to use the service.

The last thing is the worst ever for most small business services. Most of them are not intuitive or easy to use. Trying to get someone on it can be a pain. Then changes will be made to the service and have to start over learning. Facebook at Work will be way easier. All the screen shots I have seen have been just like the main account you currently use on a daily basis.

How much will the service cost? It has been rumored it will be a Freemium model. Which would be great! If you’re a really small organization you won’t need many advanced services or groups. You will use it as a way to collaborate and talk. This is great for smaller organizations where people are spread out or work from home. My only question is adding people, the beta you had to have a web address at the domain of the company. Most small businesses may have consultants and others that don’t have an official email. I hope this is not an issue.

I”m ready for this service. It’s not a competitor to LinkedIn but rather a productivity tool. I have been looking for something like this to talk to clients and consultants I work with so we are all on the same page. The release date has not been set for a public release, rumors have it by the end of the year. I will keep you posted on the release date.

Tim is the founder of Element33. A social media agency specializing in education, management and strategy for small businesses. He comes from a traditional marketing agency but has embraced all things digital. He considers himself a marketing nerd and believes that all marketing is tied together. This means no matter what silo you are in, social, email, seach, etc, changes in one will affect the other!

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