Last week we reflected on the one year anniversary of
Facebook's Like Button
. Today, Facebook announced a new companion to its quickly growing Like Button, the Send Button. Facebook's new Send Button creates a more private sharing option for website visitors.
When a user clicks on a blog or a Web page that has the Send Button, she will be prompted to share it with any Facebook Groups, friends or email address entered. So instead of sharing content with all of your friends, as is the case with the Like Button, the Send Button allows for sharing with a smaller group of friends.
Facebook Group Improvements
In addition to the new Send Button, Facebook announced some improvements to its Groups. Now users can upload an entire set of photos to a Group's photo album. There has also been an integration update of Facebook Questions, the social network's question and answer platform. Group members can now ask a Facebook Question that is limited to group members only.
The final new Group feature is likely the most important and relates directly with the announcement of the Send Button. Facebook Group administrators now have the option to approve any new members to a group. Clearly, Facebook is starting to understand the shift toward privacy.
Marketing Takeaway
What do these announcements mean to you as a marketer? One major lesson you should take away from Facebook's Send Button announcement is that email is far from dead. With overwhelming options and large online social graphs, consumers are looking to build smaller and closer networks.
Facebook is clearly trying to own the next generation of email and messaging on the Web and the Send Button plays an important role in this plan. With the popularity of the Like Button, the Send button becomes something marketers should test to see if it impacts their blog and website.
Will you use the new Facebook Send Button?