Many times Wikipedia is overlooked as a tool for both branding and social media. Wikipedia at its core is a collaborative information source and a social media. It is often one of the first listings that appears in search results, and is many people’s first choice when they want quick information.

A big reason that Wikipedia should not be overlooked is because Facebook pulls information and images directly from Wikipedia pages for the info sections of community pages. Community pages are Facebook-administered and auto-generated. Community pages were auto-generated from keywords Facebook users  often used in reference to their “likes”, interests, and work. So, there is probably at least one (if not more) community pages out there with your company’s name.

Since community pages are Facebook-administered, it is important to keep content up-to-date on your company’s Wikipedia page, or create a Wikipedia page for your company so that the community page is not blank.

The majority of Facebook users are  unaware that companies do not actually control community pages, so your brand can still be damaged by incorrect content pulled from Wikipedia. In addition, only a certain amount of content will be pulled from the Wikipedia page. (Approximately 250 words though this number varies greatly across pages)

Below are screen shots of the Macy’s Department Store Facebook Community page and the Macy’s Department Store Wikipedia page – Same content!