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07 March 2009
Believe it or not, Facebook is not just for teens, tweens, and young adults. Actually savvy marketers have taken this popular social networking tool and turned it into a powerful component. If you are selling any type of good or service and you do not have a Facebook account, then you need to start an account in short order. Facebook accounts are free; and, they are easy to set up. Now, if you already have a Facebook account here are some good tips to help you maximize your Facebook Business Page account in order to get more exposure for your product or service.
Facebook Pages
First things first, you need to become familiar with the site and how it works. Once you have the hang of where everything is you will need to create a Facebook Page. You do this by clinking this link: Facebook Pages. This should bring up the link to create your page for your business.
When you are setting up your Facebook Business Page, make sure you use your company name. This page, if used, will quickly become indexed within the search engines. Also, during setup you will notice that you can create a Facebook Community Page and a Facebook Group Page. Feel free to go back to the Facebook Business Setup Page once you have created your business page and setup either a Facebook Community Page or a Facebook Group Page. For maximum exposure I would create both.
The value of creating a Facebook Business Page:
- You can display your portfolio, products or services.
- You can invite your target audience to become a fan of your page.
- It's a social network, you have access to literally millions of people.
- You can create cheap Facebook ads promoting your page.
- You can easily post your updates, special product pricing or special service offerings and get an immediate response.
- Most importantly, people usually will not go to your website everyday, but they do check their social networks upwards of 5 times a day. Being on Facebook is a great way to stay in your customers faces consistently thus improving exposure and promotes viral marketing.
Creating a Facebook Business Page gives you a great target market for your product or service. There is a news section that allows Facebook to inform all of your members of any updates that you post. So, here you can post sales, new features and any other information about your product or service. Note: Make sure you copy your Facebook Pages Link.
Here is an example of what the link will look like: http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Turn-Group/51081408998
*Note - When creating a new Facebook Fan Page; once you get
25+ users you can customize your Facebook Fan Page link to look
something like:
http://www.facebook.com/theturngroup
You will want to use this link on your website to drive people to your page.
If you would like to get updates from our Facebook Pages sign into your Facebook account and add our Facebook Fan Page.
Secondly, once you create your Facebook Social Business Page, begin updating your page with information about your products and services. Adding things such as product pictures and descriptions, services and specials, your company website information and media files will make your page stand out from those that are similar. After you are comfortable with the setup of your page, it is time to start thinking about your marketing strategy. Now, if you have an idea of your target market than reaching these people will be pretty simple on Facebook. However, if you are unsure of the audience that your product or service appeals to, then you need to take some time to think about your ideal customer.
Once, you are satisfied with who you are going to target it is time to start inviting people to join your page. So, start small by inviting your friends, business contacts, and relatives to be your “friends.” This is the easiest way to create a quick network. Since their friends now have access to your page, they can also add you as a friend and request to become a fan of your page. At this step you should also become acquainted with the new applications in order to keep your page appealing. Then consider sending an invitation to some of the members of similar Facebook Pages, Facebook Communities and Facebook Groups.
You need to do everything that you can to prevent your Facebook Web Page from becoming inactive. Try to visit your page regularly.
Do not let a week pass by with out any activity on your Page. And, encourage members to invite any friends they feel would be interested in the page or your product or service. Remember to be involved. The key to social networking sites is the "personal feel and direct contact". So, be sure to respond to any message in your mailbox, acknowledge the birthdays of page members, and routinely send out Facebook application smiles, hugs, etc. NOTE: Do not keep sending requests for all the people on your Facebook account to join your fan page. This is annoying and a great way to lose friends.
By now, you are probably wondering why you hadn’t thought of this before, an easy way to reach a broad range of potential customers for free. Maximizing your Facebook account may allow you to cut back on other forms of marketing and save a little money as well. Companies that fail to acknowledge social networking sites as an effective marketing tool are only putting themselves at a disadvantage. Those that are poised to take full advantage of the practically built-in target audience are the businesses with marketing strategies for the new ways of doing business.
Freebie - Now that you have an account setup you need to know how to use it. Here is an article that we wrote on "How to Bring Value to your Social Followings". I suggest reading this so you can get a better idea of the best may to manage your new Facebook Business Page.
If at any time you have any questions, feel free to contact us for a Free Web Quote and we can assist with your marketing plan and strategy.
