It’s been on the cards since January, but Facebook has just announced that ‘Facebook at Work’ will soon be launched. This will see the popular social media platform support our professional networking requirements and help us keep in touch with work colleagues.
You’re probably thinking the same as me: doesn’t LinkedIn already offer the same service? With over 300 million registered users, LinkedIn is a well-established social media site for professional networking. Facebook will therefore have a job on its hands trying to win some of LinkedIn’s market share. However, there is something that could support Facebook at Work’s success. Some of us may enjoy the convenience of having our personal and professional networking on one platform, in which we could simply ‘switch’ from one to another. But judging by the amount of social media sites that are used every day, we surely like to have different platforms for different things? When we want to share a picture, we’re more likely to turn to Instagram. When we want to share some news, we’re more likely to turn to Twitter. Does anyone actually want to mix business with pleasure with Facebook at Work?
Facebook evolving in this way raises another point. Some critics have noted that Facebook is no longer cool and that teenagers are beginning to use other social media sites to escape from the same one that their parents use. As Facebook introduces a professional networking platform, it appears that it is evolving as its users grow up too. An older audience could be something that supports Facebook at Work’s success, as the social media site now appeals to more generations and therefore more professional people.
As a B2B PR agency, we like to consider the changing face of social media, and how its uses and audiences can change over time. Do you like the sound of your Facebook account featuring your professional life too? Or will you stay loyal to LinkedIn?
Alex Brown has just started his career at Skout PR and will be a regular contributor to the Skout blog.
