Facebook for Your Business
Connection has always been an important part of small business, and with electronic communication beginning to take control as one of the most important connectors out there, it’s important to know how to use these tools to strengthen business. Social networking in particular is a great way to connect to potential clients and promote themselves in a high-profile, low-cost way. Creating a Facebook page for your company is a quick and easy way to ramp up business.
To use Facebook to promote your business, you first have to create a “page.” A page is like a public Facebook profile for a business. You add the name of your business, categorize it, and post other information like the company overview, description, mission, awards, products, website, and contact information. Don’t forget to upload a picture to represent your business in the Facebook community. Once you’re done, Facebook will allow you to suggest the page to anyone you’re friends with on Facebook—suggest it not only to the people who might or do use your services, but also those who might help get the word out. You can also invite email contacts to join Facebook and like your page. Word of mouth is one of the most effective advertising strategies, even if it’s electronic.
Creating the page is only part of the process—you have to determine the best way for you to update and use the page. First, figure out how often you want to post based on your customers and potential customers. Will you have enough interesting and relevant information to post multiple times per day, or would it make more sense to post less often than that? Only you can decide.
In addition to figuring out how often you can and should post to the page, you should also schedule time each day to check the page and respond to wall posts, comments and questions. In order for your Facebook page to be as useful to you as possible, you need to make sure that you are active on it and that it’s helpful for you clients.
To keep your page interesting, post links, photos, and videos that relate to your business and your clients. Your page will get the most attention if it’s both helpful and entertaining. To increase this aspect, you can also post any news about your industry, business and possible special offers.
One way to get more attention is to encourage your fans and followers to contribute, too. Ask for suggestions, experiences, opinions, or any information that they can post on your wall or comment on your updates. The more interactive you make it, the more likely people are going to want to follow your updates.
Once you’ve made your page interactive, interesting, and up-to-date, it’s time to expand awareness. One way to do this is by installing a widget on the homepage of your website that allows people to “like” your page. You can also link to the page on any newsletters or emails that you send out.
If you’re willing to spend a little extra money, another great way to get more traffic to your Facebook page is by investing in Facebook Ads and sponsored stories. Both will expose your page to more possible clients in a more visible location, usually in a sidebar or at the top of the page..
To keep your Facebook page professional and easy to find, you can reserve a vanity URL with the site. To do this, visit the “username” page, where you’ll find a “page” dropdown that will allow you to assign the URL. Keep in mind that once you’ve confirmed this URL, Facebook won’t let you change it, so make sure that it’s correct and reflects your business.
Facebook also offers a tool called “Facebook Insights” that allows you to see information like how many active users, likes, and comments, your page has had over the last month. Turning on this tool will allow you to know more about how your Facebook page is reaching people and whether you need to make changes in order to get the kind of exposure that you need. “Insights” appears beneath the admins bar on your page.
Because Facebook has more than 800 million active users, it can be a great place to create a base for and promote your business. As long as you stay active on your page and make it as visible, interactive, and interesting as possible, you’ll find new ways to get clients and hold onto your old ones.
