• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Social Media Examiner

Your Guide to the Marketing Jungle

  • 🔥 Free Newsletter
  • 🎙️ Podcasts
    • Social Media Marketing Podcast
    • AI Explored Podcast
    • Social Media Marketing Talk Show
    • Our YouTube Channel
  • 🌟 AI Society
  • 🗓️ Marketing Conference
  • đź‘‹ About Us
    • Marketing Events
  • Search
  • Embrace AI & MarketingGet Ongoing Training & SupportBEGIN YOUR JOURNEY NOW

    How to Use Facebook Graph Search to Improve Your Marketing

    by Lior Degani / February 2, 2015

    social media how to

    Are you looking for new ways to grow a following on Facebook?

    Do you want to see how your competitors are engaging with the same audience?

    Marketers can use Facebook Graph Search to research engaging campaigns based on what's already being shared.

    In this article you'll discover three ways to use Facebook Graph Search to improve your campaigns.

    use facebook graph search
    Discover how to use Facebook Graph Search.

    Why Facebook Graph Search?

    Facebook has made a series of changes to Graph Search. Now search results are indexed by Facebook (rather than Bing) and include people, posts, hashtags and locations. They include both friends and people in your extended network (i.e., friends of friends, people with similar interests and people nearby).

    The important thing about Facebook Graph Search is that it's a semantic search engine. That means it tries to give you results related to the context of your search terms.

    For example, if I search for “Orange is the New Black,” I get results that show status updates primarily from my friends and the pages I've liked that have mentioned or discussed the show.

    The semantic part of that search is that Facebook knew I was most likely looking for the HBO series, not a citrus fruit. Facebook was able to analyze the context of the phrase and only bring me relevant results about the book and/or show.

    orange is the new black graph search results
    Search results for Orange is the New Black with Facebook Graph Search.

    So how does this affect you as a marketer? Facebook's Graph Search opens up a new world of opportunities to target users. Insight, research and discovery are intuitive with the new setup—you can target and filter audiences and optimize your interactions with them.

    #1: Check Out Competitors

    Searching for your competitors—or even your own brand—in Graph Search will show you all of the talk throughout the network.

    There's a wealth of information to search for like company name, products or services, hashtags, comments, users, press and reviews.

    Do a search on several of those options to find out how your competitor is engaging with people. Are they commenting on or liking related posts? Is that interaction done via their page profile or by personal profiles from people within the company?

    AI Business Society

    Ready to Unlock AI Marketing Breakthroughs?

    If you’re like most of us, you are trying to figure out how to use AI in your marketing. Here's the solution: The AI Business Society—a new AI marketing community from your friends at Social Media Examiner.

    The AI Business Society is the place to discover how to apply AI in your work. When you join, you'll boost your productivity, unlock your creativity, and make connections with other marketers on a similar journey.

    I'M READY TO BECOME AN AI-POWERED MARKETER

    Knowing how competitors interact with people to increase their brand recognition gives you access to what's working for your competitors, and just as importantly, what isn't.

    Before investing in a paid campaign, research the advertising styles of your competitors. Check out what's getting shared and commented on, and what's leading fans to create content of their own.

    sale post by a competitor found in graph search
    Research successful competitor tactics with Facebook Graph Search.

    If you find that users are responding to discounts, you can begin to use that tactic yourself. But it's not enough to create discount codes. How will you get those codes in front of the right users? Look at where competitors and users are posting or sharing to figure out the right place for your message.

    As you analyze your Graph Search results based on competitors, examine your data closely and look for patterns. If you see that they (and users) are engaging heavily in one area, make sure you're there too. Target your marketing and push for your brand to be where the action is.

    #2: Look for Overlapping Interests

    An integral part of content marketing is figuring out what your audience likes, aside from your brand. Knowing that information gives you new paths for engagement that will deeply interest them on many fronts.

    Discover Proven Marketing Strategies and Tips

    Want to go even deeper with your marketing? Check out the Social Media Marketing Podcast! Publishing weekly since 2012, the Social Media Marketing Podcast helps you navigate the constantly changing marketing jungle, with expert interviews from marketing pros.

    But don’t let the name fool you. This show is about a lot more than just social media marketing. With over 600 episodes and millions of downloads each year, this show has been a trusted source for marketers for well over a decade.

    CHECK OUT THE SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING PODCAST NOW

    The new Facebook Graph Search helps you find those interests. For example, do a search for “posts by people who like X” (where X is your brand name) and identify the common themes among the posts. Watch for interesting or surprising topics and look for additional keywords to search for.

    For example, you may find that your audience is talking about Dancing With the Stars. You may not normally associate that popular TV show with your brand (and so you wouldn't search for it), but it's obviously important to your customers and leads.

    OK, you've been surprised. What can you do with that information? Try to discern how your audience is interacting with the show (or whatever topic) within Facebook.

    orange is the new black graph search results
    Graph Search results for Dancing With the Stars.

    Keeping with our DWtS example, you may find that the same video of dancers dressed as the Mario Brothers keeps coming up. Now you know that your audience enjoys and shares humorous videos and updates.

    Armed with that knowledge, you can think of ways to integrate that kind of content in your upcoming campaigns. The main idea here is to engage with your customers on their home turf.

    Do another Graph Search for people in a certain location and find out if they have more than one interest in common, which can reveal trends in small subgroups.

    Take that information and work on filling holes in the market and creating shareable, engaging content. When you can identify a complete profile of people in a subgroup it's much easier to design content suited to their needs.

    combination location search
    Do a combination search to find interests shared by fans in a location.

    By pinpointing your target audience and their interests, you'll be able to provide content with optimal relevance and engagement potential.

    When your market feels like you care about and understand them, you'll be able to cultivate loyalty and encourage brand participation—and isn't that why you're here?

    #3: Research Hashtags

    Hashtags aren't just for Twitter and Instagram—Facebook users include them in their updates as well. If you're looking for a way to unite people around your brand and intrigue those who aren't yet a part of your community, hashtags may be the thing you're looking for.

    If you're already using hashtags, do a Graph Search to see who's using them and how. If you're not using hashtags, you can still glean some good information from Graph Search.

    If you're not sure which hashtags to search for, head over to Twitter and see what the trending topics are, and then come back to Facebook and plug them into Graph Search.

    trends on twitter
    Find trending hashtags on Twitter to plug into Graph Search.

    When you're analyzing your audience and their behavior, the most important thing is to look for trends. If you see posts across your network using the same hashtag, even if the tone or point of view of the posts varies, you've stumbled upon a gold mine.

    If there is already discussion surrounding the hashtag, then jump in and be part of the conversation. Work the existing engagement to your advantage and tailor your interactions to match the discussion.

    Over to You

    Why reinvent the wheel? Use Facebook Graph Search to see what is and isn't working for your competitors and your shared audience. Use that knowledge as a jumping-off point for your next campaign.

    Sometimes you can get so locked up in your product that you may forget your audience has outside interests. If you take the time to find those interests, you can use them to guide your marketing tactics.

    The bottom line is that Facebook Graph Search is more than an improved feature. It gives you insight and access to what your fan base is looking for.

    What do you think? Are you using Graph Search? How has it helped you reach your audience more effectively? Please leave your comments below.

    how to use facebook graph search for marketing
    Tips for using Facebook Graph Search to improve marketing.
    AI EXPLORED

    Curious About How to Use AI?

    Our newest show, AI Explored, might be just what you're looking for. It's for marketers, creators, and entrepreneurs who want to understand how to use AI in their business.

    It's hosted by Michael Stelzner and explores this exciting new frontier in easy-to-understand terms.

    Pull up your favorite podcast app and search for AI Explored. Or click the button below for more information.

    I WANT TO LEARN MORE ABOUT AI

    Tags: Facebook

    About the authorLior Degani

    Lior Degani is the co-founder of Swayy a personalized content curation platform that helps you discover engaging content to share with your audience on social media.
    Other posts by Lior Degani »

    Get Social Media Examiner’s Future Articles in Your Inbox!

    Get our latest articles delivered to your email inbox and get the FREE Social Media Marketing Industry Report (43 pages, 60+ charts)!

    Industry Report Cover

    Worth Exploring:

    Facebook

    Marketing Help Explore More →

    Instagram

    Marketing Help Explore More →

    YouTube

    Marketing Help Explore More →

    Linkedin

    Marketing Help Explore More →

    AI

    Next Frontier Explore More →

    Social Media Marketing Industry Report

    Get Free Report →

    Social Marketing Trends

    The data you've been missing!

    Need a new plan? Discover how marketers plan to change their social activities in the 16th annual Social Media Marketing Industry Report. It reveals what marketers have planned for their social activities, content marketing, and more! Get this free report now and never miss another great article from us. Join more than 385,000 marketers!

    Simply click the button below to get the free report:

    Footer

    Your Guide to the Marketing Jungle
    Copyright © 2025 Social Media Examiner®
    All Rights Reserved. Terms of Use | Privacy Policy.

    Helpful Links

    • About us
    • Our content via email
    • Our podcasts
    • Our YouTube channel
    • Our live show
    • Our social media marketing industry report
    • Our generative AI marketing industry report
    • Sponsorship opportunities
    • RSS