Facebook is definitely an up-and-coming resource for businesses to promote themselves. But more than simply for promotional use, it has proven itself to be the preferred method for companies to interact directly with their target audience via social media. Recent research studies have shown that companies using social networking sites like Facebook stand to gain 17 times more positive feedback from customer service satisfaction surveys than companies that do not use social networking resources.
If you are just starting to contemplate using this great medium to reach your target audience, or if you have a profile already on that hasn’t been faring as well as you had hoped, here are a 10 simple tips for using this great social media outlet to improve your visibility and build your business with Facebook:
1. Create A Thorough Profile
When you initially set up your account on Facebook, it is really important that you plan out the information you will post on behalf of your company. Be sure to fill out each profile area completely and do not forget to list your company website address. Include your company’s area of interest as well as any relevant activities. Many people who are using the internet and social networking sites to access company information will be interested and appreciative of this information. It helps consumers feel as if they are getting to know your company more intimately and helps them raise their levels of trust in your business.
2. Be Consistent
Social networking does take a lot of time but if you can manage to use that time wisely, the results will be plentiful. Each day you should be adding new information. Whether it be in the form of comments, links, photos or videos, you need to update your page regularly. Don’t dump so much information on your audience that you end up turning them off with your all-too-frequent updates, but do contribute regularly. It helps to have an outline of each week beforehand so you can list all of the topics you would like to cover in an order that makes sense to readers. Throwing out random pieces of information every other week will not help attract the right attention.
3. Participate; Be a Contributor
It is not enough to upload some pictures or post scattered information randomly on your Facebook page. You have to be committed to remaining consistent with your Facebook activity. Facebook offers many opportunities to network within individual groups. You should join groups that relate to your business and industry and use the resources in the groups to share what you know and where your experience lies. Add comments and participate in discussion areas where you can supply readers with tips and tricks that will be of interest to them.
4. Be A Leader
While it is important that your contribute to other groups, it can also be important to start your own group. Create a group that relates to your business on some level but is not exactly like any other available group. This kind of environment helps your business to be perceived as an authority on topics relevant to your industry and allows people to have confidence in your knowledge and experience with the information you are providing. Open up topics of discussion and encourage readers to provide feedback, which in turn can be invaluable to how you do business.
5. Grow A Community
Since there are so many people joining Facebook every day, you may come to find that there are certain people with whom you ‘friend’ that can gain something from meeting other ‘friends’ of yours. By helping others to network, you start to develop a community of sorts. People will appreciate your efforts on their behalf.
6. Get Personal
Many people may automatically expect that a business page will be impersonal so take the extra steps necessary to personalize as much of your page as you can. For instance, on each friend request, you can add a personal message that may help people remember your company, letting them know you are paying attention and value their input and their interest.
7. Add A Business Page
When you initially set up a Facebook page for your business, you will find that you must complete the profile as if it were a personal page. However, there is also the option of creating a separate business page that allows others to become a ‘fan’ of your company. Your business page link will then show up on the profile page of users who have become a fan. People who look at the interests and links of other friends can then be directed directly to your business site.
8. Use Ad Space Creatively
Within a business page, you can create “social ad” campaigns that will help people begin to more easily recognize your brand. You can even select the demographics for which each ad will appear. Create ads people will pay attention to and that make sense to the demographic you are trying to reach.
9. Promote, Promote, Promote
Facebook is an excellent place to promote business and industry-related events, especially the ones your company is sponsoring. Invite friends to seminars, conventions, educational events, live shows, or scheduled promotional events. Don’t forget to get to word out about sales or special discounts geared to customers with a direct link to your website for more details. This can help improve the traffic to your website.
10. Be Informative
Within a Facebook profile is a section referred to as Notes. You can use the Notes application to pull posts directly from your company website’s blog and adds it to the regular news feeds your Facebook friends can view. The more relevant and helpful information you are providing through your blogs, the more people will begin to turn to you and your company for assistance in your particular area of expertise.
Ultimately, you need to remember that social networking is about 3 things:
- Building Community
- Establishing New Relationships
- Building Upon Existing Relationships
Through Facebook, you have many opportunities to reach out personally to your community. Be prepared to regularly provide your friends with relevant and new content each day and have a well-thought out “message”. Be social and really interact with users who are leaving comments, providing feedback, and looking for reliable information. By doing so, you’ll be setting the stage to build a lasting community and relationships that simply aren’t possible through any other medium. Results you get will not only be rewarding but can also be long-lasting.
REMINDER: Don’t forget to list your Facebook profile, as well as all of your social networking page links on your website to make it easier for people to find you!
Additional Resources for Building Your Business with Facebook:
- 10 Tips for Creating Business Value From Facebook (Slideshare.net)
- Facebook Fan Pages – Marketing Tips (TopRankBlog.com)
- More Tips for Promoting Your Business with Facebook (WilsonWeb.com)
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Good article, some great tips. Thanks!
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