Facebook is the premiere social media giant and as such, businesses should want to have a presence on and be constantly engaging with others on Facebook.  As changes occur and there are Facebook updates for business that are relevant, we at Black Box Social Media will bring you the latest news.

Facebook Updates for Business | Skype your Facebook Friends

Back in July, Facebook launched allowed its users to chat, but the feature only allows Facebook friends to video chat with each other when they are both on Facebook.  Now, you can incorporate your list of Facebook friends to Skype and call them.  Here’s how it works, according to PCMag.com:

The feature comes with the Skype 5.4 Beta for Mac andSkype 5.7 Beta for Windows updates. To access it, connect your Skype and Facebook accounts via the Facebook button in the Skype dashboard. Your friends list will appear within Skype and you can initiate a call, which your friend can answer from Facebook.

This integration will expand most users’ Skype contact lists dramatically, making Skype a more attractive social homebase.  This ease of communication is provides a competitive alternative to Google+ Hangouts as you’ll be able to video conference up to 10 people at one time through Skype.

Facebook Updates for Business | Send Money with PayPal

Need to send money to someone quickly?  Facebook and PayPal have an app for that.

The app, simply titled Send Money, is just as straightforward as its name. You have the choice to send either an ecard with money or just money with no card. You select a card, choose a friend to send it to and then select how much money to send.

According to Mashable:

While there are several ways to pay with PayPal via Facebook (Payvment comes to mind), this is the first app to enable peer-to-peer payments via Facebook and PayPal. And because it’s a peer-to-peer transaction, there is no transaction fee, though PayPal’s regular limits and international fees still apply.  “Sending money, person to person, is free,” PayPal Senior Product Marketing Manager JB Coutinho said. “If it’s funded by a PayPal balance or linked to a bank account, it’s free.”

And while the primary aspect of the Send Money app is its enablement of transactions across the world’s largest social network, the ecard aspect is being emphasized as well. PayPal was quick to point out that more than 500 million ecards are sent every year, and that’s why PayPal is offering dozens of choices for everything from birthdays to congratulations.

We can see the app really taking off. Users who see on Facebook that it’s a friend’s birthday can quickly fire up the app and send a card and some cash within a few minutes. The app is just as useful for things like lottery pools and reimbursing friends for lunch. It’s a big step toward making social payments a reality.  http://mashable.com/2011/11/17/paypal-facebook-send-money/

 

Facebook Updates for Business | Facebook Adds Maps to Events Pages

Finally, AllFacebook.com reports that Facebook has improved it’s Events Pages by adding maps to the page.  Here’s what they have to say:

Facebook events were on the receiving end of another tweak: The event page now includes a rectangular box directly under the event details, with a picture of the map of the event area in the background, and links to access an actual map or get directions to the site.  We like this enhancement to the events application and hope Facebook keeps it around.