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Facebook Profile Tags... Coming Soon?

by Article by Remington Begg Remington Begg | August 10, 2015 at 8:00 AM

Facebookers in New Zealand are currently testing out the newest Facebook addition- one “borrowed” from LinkedIn. Recently reported by The Verge, this new feature will let you add tags to your own profile, or let your friends add tags for you. You must approve these tags before they become publicly visible. Tags are free-form, which means you can pretty much type in whatever you want, even emojis, and don’t have to choose from a pre-existing database.

It appears that the tagging feature will work very similar to the already-existing tags on LinkedIn. Friends can add tags by going to your profile and tagging you using words or phrases that describe you or what you do. This can be something like “graphic designer”, “gamer”, or “mother of two.” You'll receive a notification, prompting you to accept or decline your tags. If you accept, the tags become visible to everyone, and if you decline, the tags disappear. Or you could just ignore the notification, and the tags will remain pending, visible only to you and the friend who tagged you, just like friend requests.

Facebook isn’t LinkedIn and not everyone uses it professionally, though. So, how tags will actually be used is not yet clear. With that in mind, here are a few things to keep in mind if this feature is eventually rolled out worldwide:

It’s a Great Way to Show What Makes You Special

Facebook already allows you to share photos, status updates, likes, and locations you’ve visited. People can gather a lot of information about you based on these. In addition to the established ways of letting people know who you are on your Facebook profile, profile tags let you express your identity in a more informal way. Friends can also add a unique perspective to who you are and what makes you special that you may not even think about putting on your profile.

Be Careful What You Accept to Be Seen Publically

Chances are high that you’ll start getting silly tag requests from friends once users get comfortable with this feature. And that’s okay to a certain extent. Remember that “public” means just that- everyone can see it. As a professional, you are probably Facebook friends with coworkers, your boss, your employees (if you are the boss), and maybe events clients. Something particularly sexual or gross shouldn’t be accepted. Even if it isn’t overtly inappropriate, too many nonsense tags may make professional connections see you as less-than-competent. Do you potential clients want to work with a “beer pong ninja?” Probably not.

It Could be a Great Asset to your Company Page

These tags could prove extremely beneficial to companies with Facebook profiles, if used correctly. If your profile is appropriately tagged with your industry terms and services offered, it’s just one more way for potential customers to find you online. This feature has the possibility of bumping Google down as the go-to search engine for local organic searches.

It May Not Actually Be Released Here

This feature is still in beta testing right now. According to Facebook, this feature is currently only being tested in New Zealand, with no word on when other countries might get to try it. So we may never actually get this, but it’s best to get ready for it if we do.

Compliment your friends, make your relationships even stronger and help others learn interesting and fun facts about your company with Facebook’s new tagging feature, hopefully coming soon. Facebook seems to want to be your one stop-shop for connecting with friends, catching up on news, watching videos, and, with this latest update, maybe even connecting with strangers who need your services.

If you need help with this new Facebook feature or just getting started on social media in general, download our free eBook “Mastering Social Media for Business.”