The now ubiquitous and copied Like button just got a sibling - the Send button. One word for this simple addition by Facebook - nice, in fact very nice (OK, that's two words).
Facebook announced this new feature over the Easter weekend in its developer blog with a neat travel marketing example. Typically the button lives next to a Like button at the beginning or end of a page or post. It's purpose is, of course, to let you share content that you are reading or watching directly with specific contacts or to a Group.
It's like the "Send to a Friend" or "Forward to a Friend" which has been used for years to make emails more viral. So you could say Facebook has an even stronger viral effect now since these are direct recommendations to an individual or group.
If you look at the screen grab below (from Mashable in this case) you'll see that unlike the general Like button which posts content to your wall, you're now able to share the content with:
- Individually chosen Facebook Friends
- Facebook Groups, if you use them (this is particularly good - more on that below)
- Any email address that you type in, for people not in Facebook
Mark Zuckerberg claimed he was going to implement a modern messaging messaging system and reinvent email - and this is another step towards that even if on it's own it doesn't seem especially exciting.
So - make sure that you're implementing the Send button on your site, it can only make the sharing potential of your content even greater. You can implement send as a Like+Send feature or completely stand alone. More on that detail here.
A note on Facebook Groups
It's important to note that Facebook has also updated Facebook Groups to allow Group Questions and Group sharing of photo libraries. Remember that Facebook developed Groups for targeted sharing: words, pictures, videos, links and documents. Facebook recognises that within social networks there are sub-groups - work colleagues or close friends, maybe just family, for example.
What's good about Groups for marketers?
In short - people can share with a tighter sub-set (more targeted and relevant) group of people, and therefore more likely your message (in the form of content) will get seen by those that matter. It also means we're more likely to friend people we might not have, and as a result become more sophisticated in our usage of Facebook, as individuals.
The Send button will very likely lead to a boost in the adoption of Groups - sharing work humour/stories with work friends, for example.