Jeri Usbay

You are watching TV and the program you are watching is encouraging you to check out their Facebook page, or become a fan of their page.   You turn off the TV and turn on the radio, and no matter which station you turn to, sooner or later you are asked to like their Facebook page.    

You see the Facebook logo, that white F on the blue background everywhere.   It’s all over print media advertising (check your junk mail), on websites, in stores, and yes sometimes even at the end of television commercials.    If you are a Facebook holdout, you may be wondering what this is all about.  

In addition to advertising, Facebook is in the news almost daily.  Sometimes there is a news story about the latest Mark Zuckerberg endeavor, new Facebook feature, or at least a human interest story, sometimes a happy one but not always.  Like it or not, for better or worse, Facebook has seeped into our culture.  

Facebook is now the most visited website in the US, surpassing Google.  A recent statistic from Arbitron and Edison research claims that 51% of the US population age 12 and over is on Facebook (despite Facebook’s age requirement of 13). Some people are addicted to it, yet many of us (49%) don’t have a Facebook account, and don’t want or feel the need for one.  Perhaps non Facebook users are curious, but have concerns regarding privacy, so they stay away.

If you are one of those Facebook holdouts, perhaps you should give in to your  curiosity, because you may be missing out on a valuable online tool, namely Facebook no account necessary, thank you.  Facebook business pages can be accessed like any other website.  For example, www.facebook.com/”company name”.   (Actually you don’t need the “www”,  just facebook.com works.)  Try going to your favorite search engine and entering the company or local business of your choice followed by Facebook and you will most likely find a link to that company’s Facebook business page.  Click on their Facebook link and there you go, you’ve just landed on the Facebook page for that business, without having signed into Facebook.   What may surprise you is the number of fans of the page (Facebook users who have clicked on the Like button). 

Why bother?    Why if you are happily not using Facebook should you check this out?  First, it may be easier to find information you are looking for on Facebook because the Facebook page format is standardized.  Every business page has at least a Wall and Info tab, additionally there may be Photos, Videos, Events, and Notes tabs.  (Think of a tab as a menu choice.) The Info tab is a template, so information I am looking for is always in the same place on each business page I visit.   If I need a phone number I know I will find it in the Info tab, toward the midddle of the page.  When I need to know a phone number or hours or events for my town, I head straight to the town’s Facebook page because I know where to find the information  immediately without hunting the town website.  If I do want to venture to the town website I can just click on the website link provided in the Info tab – so easy.   Second, you may be missing out on local events, programs, specials, or discounts that are being advertised via a Facebook Wall posting or Event posting.  Third, many local businesses may not have a costly website, but they might have a Facebook page because it is free.  How nice to find out store hours or event details without having to make a phone call! 

Now that you know a bit about Facebook business pages, next time you are on a website and see that white F on the blue background, click on it – it will bring you to that company’s Facebook page.

Having a profile on Facebook is a personal choice.  For those who choose not to become friends or fans in the Facebook fashion, know that you do not have to ban yourself from Facebook!  You can’t access personal profiles, but you can see the same events, wall postings, and information that Facebook users see on business pages.  You can’t get automatic updates from a business page as fan can, however you can bookmark (save as a favorite)  your pages of interest and easily check them out with just a click.  Hey, even if you do use Facebook, you can bookmark your favorite business pages and check them out without having to login.

Do you have a Facebook question?