Facebook is currently home to over 2.23 billion monthly users.
As the most popular social media channel on the web, Facebook offers users a place to catch up with friends, connect with family and even interact with brands.
With such a vast user base and so many ways for people to interact, Facebook is particularly good at gathering data generated from its products and services. The social giant even built its own data centers to manage the enormous volumes of information it collects every day. What's more, Facebook also offers developer tools that help businesses to tap into some of that valuable data and expand their reach.
Open Graph or "OG" is one of Facebook's more attractive resources. With Open Graph technology, developers have a way to link Facebook features onto their existing apps and websites, without missing out on crucial consumer information.
What does Open Graph do?
Facebook Open Graph is an API or application programming interface.
The Open Graph technology has been around for about a decade now, making a significant difference in the way that companies embed social media into their websites and applications. For instance, one popular feature of Open Graph is a signup tool that allows Facebook users to sign into third-party services using Facebook credentials, instead of creating a new account.
This sign-in solution means that companies don't have to waste time and money on creating a sign-up process for their users. For website visitors, engagement is easier because they don't have to think about filling out a form before they comment on a post or share content. With Open Graph, developers may also embed features like "Liking," "Sharing" or "Commenting" into their website.
Businesses that use Open Graph can see how their content is performing on Facebook. For instance, you might track how many Likes you get on a new product and this could help you to make future decisions about your portfolio.
The biggest advantage of Facebook Open Graph, however, comes from its ability to drive engagement and immediate customer interaction. With Facebook embedded into your website, you offer your customers a way to connect with your brand, without asking them to sign up for new accounts or use systems that they're unfamiliar with.
A more recent feature of Open Graph also allows specific web pages Liked by a person to send content to a Facebook user's news feed. This method may generate more social activity than attempting to convince your user to copy and paste a web page link.
Open Graph allows businesses to exploit the highly sought-after solution of word-of-mouth marketing and propel their company's growth on Facebook.
Facebook is even beginning to push aspects of Open Graph out for Instagram so that customers have multiple new ways to engage with their favorite brands online. While using this feature requires a certain level of care and finesse, Open Graph could be a powerful tool for the right organizations.