Tag, You’re It!

Facebook recently introduced a subtle change and for once it won’t change the appearance of your news feed. Facebook introduced a new feature that allows users to identify people or objects that have their own Facebook Pages.

Previously, users could only tag their friends. Now users can tag celebrities or public figures they meet or tag the brands and products they use. For example, if I posted a photo of myself running in Nike sneakers, I could label the shoes with a tag that links to Nike’s official Facebook Page.

For now, this tagging feature is limited to Pages for people or brands and products, although Facebook plans to expand these categories.

If it catches on, this new feature could be great for brands looking to go  viral and spread awareness about their products. Companies will no doubt run contests, forcing participants to tag products. It is essentially free advertising on one the coolest and most popular websites today. At least for now.

The new tagging feature could also be an opportunity for Facebook to monetize the site’s photo service, perhaps adding sponsored tags.

After all, nothing evokes fond family memories like that tagged bottle of soda in the background!