Facebook rolls out new questions feature

Facebook has begun the rollout of its new feature, Facebook Questions. While online Question and Answer services are not exactly new, Facebook’s community of 500 million users adds a new dynamic to the space and could potentially create an exciting opportunity for small businesses.

A Facebook blog post explained the service: “Millions of people ask their friends questions on Facebook every day. What new music should I listen to? Where’s the best sushi place in town? How do I learn to play the piano? With this new application, you can get a broader set of answers and learn valuable information from people knowledgeable on a range of topics.”

Similar in concept to Yahoo! Answers, Quora and Mahalo, Facebook Questions gives users the opportunity to ask questions simply by clicking the “Ask Question” button on the homepage. Questions is also available on friends’ profiles in the same way that you would post on someone’s wall. Questions is still in beta but it is clear that Facebook are keen to make it a big part of the site.

Some of the features that Questions will include will offer an opportunity to SMEs. For example, you will be able to create public polls within Questions. This means that SMEs will be able to get feedback on their products and services very quickly, and more importantly for free.

Another feature that will have a definite impact on SMEs is that you will be able to respond to questions about your business with your business name. In other words, if you have created a page for your business, ‘John’s Café’ you will be able to answer questions with your page profile. This allows anyone who comes across the question to visit your businesses page rather than your personal profile.

Questions is not available to all Facebook users yet, but if you have used it we would love to hear your feedback.