Facebook debuts new search tool: What does it mean for brands?

The feature is called Graph Search, and it has implications for businesses using Facebook.

“If you have a Page on Facebook, Graph Search can make it easier for people to discover and learn more about your business,” the social network said in a blog post.

Here’s how it works:

Graph Search appears atop each page. A Facebook user can then enter a search query such as, “my friends in San Francisco” or “my friends who like trail running,” and the results reveal friends who have shared this information. The results are displayed in a page that users can then edit and rename.

The service is currently in beta and for English users only. The beta version focuses on four key areas: people, photos, places, and interests, according to Facebook.

According to Facebook, the results of a search depend on a number of factors, including information shared by a brand and a person’s connections with a brand. That means your content could appear in a person’s Graph Search results. As a result, Facebook urged brands to keep their pages updated.