Most people browse Facebook so often, they don’t realize the changing landscape right in front of them. Over the last year or so, Facebook has rolled out some really cool new features that could be an easy win for your business.

Facebook is constantly releasing new features. Some of them flop while others flourish. Today I’d like to focus on 4 new Facebook features that I definitely feel are worth knowing about.

Order a Facebook Bluetooth Beacon

That’s right, if you ask nice Facebook will actually send you this cool little gadget in the main. What does it do? Sadly, not much. Really it is just a tool that amplifies your Facebook Business Page that shows “tips” for users that are close by and connect via Bluetooth. I was kind of disappointed, but it is still a cool piece of technology to use nevertheless.

facebook bluetooth business beacon

Verify Your Page to Show up Higher in Search Results

This is a very new feature that we just started playing with. Facebook actually says in their settings page that verified pages will show up higher in their search results. Only problem for us (and a few others that I checked with) is the verification system seems to be broken right now, so we are awaiting manual review.

facebook verified pages

I have a very simple philosophy when it comes to SEO and SMM: do anything in your power that may increase your visibility online.

Note: this is a grey check mark which is very different than the blue check mark that Facebook gives out to celebrities and large businesses. The grey check mark can be earned through verification while the blue check mark can only be given to large entities.

Add a Facebook Call to Action

If you get a lot of traffic to your Facebook page, (or even a little) it is always a good idea to put a big fat button at the top to show your visitors what to do next. Facebook has recently added “call to action” buttons where users can click and visit a custom link. As of now the choices are:

  • book now
  • call now – visitors can call direct from mobile phone
  • contact us – send visitors to website contact form
  • send message – visitors can send a Facebook message
  • use app – Facebook Apps only
  • play game – Games only
  • shop now – for eCommerce stores
  • sign up – newsletters, etc
  • watch video – videos, obviously

call to action

If you want to get crafty you can embed a custom tracking link in the “contact now” form field so that you can track how many people came from the call to action button.

Add Facebook Authorship

You heard it right, Facebook has authorship too. I’ll be honest here, I never even tested this (shame on me) but have been doing a lot of research lately and definitely think it could carry some weight. If you are a publisher or even a lowly blogger and you use Facebook, this is definitely something worth checking out.

To add Facebook authorship just add this code to your website:


If Facebook likes you, the post that has authorship markup will be given a nice “by” line / link next to the post around all the other OGP stuff.

Just remember: Facebook wants in on the publishing game. They’ve even launched a product called “Instant Articles” which is rolling out now, so keep your eye on this type of stuff.