Unless you’ve been living under a rock, the iPad has been the tablet of choice for quite some time now. Yet, although Facebook is taking over the world, it STILL hasn’t released its dedicated app for the iPad. This will be changing soon. According to the New York Times, Facebook is planning to release the free iPad app in the coming weeks. The day can’t come soon enough. If you spend an unreasonable amount of time on the iPad browsing Facebook you know how frustrating it is pinching, zooming, and flipping every other second. The new app will fit the iPad screen eliminating the frustration that goes along with viewing Facebook on the iPad’s web browser. This app has been in the works for over a year now, getting tailored specifically for the iPad’s touch-screen interface. No one knows (or those who do aren’t divulging much information), about what new features there will be, but those that have already seen the app say it has a “Slick design.” Similar to the iPhone, users will be able to shoot and upload videos directly from the iPad’s cameras. No need to fumble around with a camera and tangled cords trying to upload a video from your camera, to your computer, and then upload it to Facebook. Now you can just grab your iPad! The developers have also completely overhauled Facebook Chat and Facebook Groups. For those Facebookers who do not like the new app there will be an updated version of Facebook for the iPad’s web browser, which is meant to “compliment” the app and not compete with it.
What does this change mean for agencies and social media managers? Agencies can take advantage of new features of the app, such as taking pictures and video using the iPad and tying this feature into a social campaign. Apps within Facebook will also appear more robust on the Facebook iPad app, and it will likely be easier for users to navigate their favorite Pages, leading to increased engagement metrics. Since the iPad was first introduced over a year ago, Apple has sold over 25 million of them. This is no small number and this is just the beginning. Tablet users in the U.S. is at 12% saturation and this number is said to almost double to 23% by early next year. No one knows for sure exactly how the official Facebook app for the iPad will affect social media marketing, but in a few weeks when the app is released we will all find out.
