I spoke to a graduate-level marketing class at the University of Colorado and had an interesting exchange. I first asked how many thought Facebook was for business. Many said it wasn’t. I then asked how many follow Pages specifically to get information about a business. Most of those who said Facebook wasn’t for business raised their hands…rather sheepishly!
I think we may all be guilty of this train of thought—we don’t think Facebook is for business, but we follow lots of businesses on Facebook. Maybe more importantly, many of us think Facebook isn’t for our business.
To that, I say “Why the heck not?”
Business owners and marketers often tell me that their audience isn’t on Facebook. With over half a billion active users, it’s hard to say that your customers and potential customers aren’t on Facebook. However, sometimes that is true, so as with any marketing effort, make sure that your audience is on Facebook before spending time there.
It’s important to see who is on Facebook—and if your competitors are there, you’d better be, too. Social Media Examiner recently surveyed marketers and found that of those using social media as a business tool, 92% use Facebook. (And if you’re curious, 93% of those surveyed use social media to market their business.)
“Facebook allows marketers to stay connected with people throughout their day whether they are on their computers or mobile devices, at home or at work, watching TV or shopping with friends. This allows businesses to create rich social experiences, build lasting relationships and amplify the most powerful type of marketing – word of mouth.” (Facebook’s Best Practice Guide, Marketing on Facebook)
I like to say that using social media to promote your business is like word of mouth on steroids! One of your primary objectives should be to get those who “Like” your Page to become your “evangelists” and spread the word about your organization, product or service to their Facebook Friends.
Other objectives, according to Facebook, are:
- Foster product development and innovation
- Generate awareness
- Drive preference and differentiation
- Increase traffic and sales
- Build loyalty and deepen relationships
- Amplify recommendation and word of mouth
- Gain insights
So, to those who are still skeptical, I ask which of those objectives aren’t something you want for your business?
One thing to note—if you do use Facebook, it should be just one of your marketing tools. Incorporate it into your marketing plans, making sure that your messaging is consistent.
One more thing to note—business owners have told me that they only have a Facebook Page and not a website. Bad. Bad. Bad! While this may seem like a less costly and easy way to develop your presence, remember that you have no control over Facebook. It’s their toy and they can do whatever they want with it! Use your Page to drive people to your website.
One last thing to note—the reasons for-profit businesses should be on Facebook are the same for nonprofit organizations.
Are you using Facebook to promote your business? If not, why not? If you are, what results have you seen?
Another good post Deb and I am in complete agreement that Facebook is part of your marketing strategy not THE strategy. I use Facebook for business and recently I have been tying my blog, to my Website via excerpts then using Networked Blogs to connect it all with Facebook. While I haven’t seen any increase in business, I feel the possibility for something to happen is a lot greater now that I have these pieces working together. It also has been nice to use the photos section to post samples of my work. The last thing that I like about using Facebook is that I can add projects/websites I have completed as soon as they happen. In the past, I wouldn’t have mentioned these things due to not having a sensible way to communicate. Facebook solves this quickly and easily.
You’re a good example of using Facebook for business, in a logical and planned way. The one problem with Networked Blogs is Facebook now “lumps” multiple posts together, so the user has to click to see them all, i.e., “See 12 more posts from Networked Blogs.” Unfortunately, this means many people may not see the information. I still use Networked Blogs, as that’s how I bring my posts to my Page, but I also independently post links to my blog. It’s getting me much better results.
Are you saying that Networked Blogs lumps them together on your wall? Hmm… It doesn’t show that way for me, does it show it that way visitors while showing something different for admins?
Tim – there’s several factor that play into this. First, I follow quite a few people on Facebook that do all of their postings via WordPress, so their content gets pushed to Facebook via NetworkedBlogs – often quite a few posts at the same time. That’s why it gets lumped together on my feed and the same thing happens to other people. I’ve seen it on numerous personal News Feeds (not Pages). It’s the same thing with other automated posts – you’ll see something like “See 29 more posts from Twitter.” Second, items appear in a News Feed (either Top News or Most Recent) according to their EdgeRank, which is an algorithm that Facebook uses to determine what should appear. Videos and pictures always have a fairly high EdgeRank – that’s why some people always include some type of picture when they post. Posts from services like Twitter, Tweekdeck, Socialoomph and NetworkedBlogs have a lower EdgeRank. Items with a really low EdgeRank may not even appear on someone’s Most Recent feed. For more information on EdgeRanks and how to improve rankings, go to http://www.socialmediaexaminer.com/6-tips-to-increase-your-facebook-edgerank-and-exposure/.
Good stuff. Thanks for sharing the knowledge. I’ll keep that in mind when I update my blog/Facebook. I guess then, fortunately, I don’t rely only on WordPress to update Facebook. I tend to use a mixture.
The best thing is exactly what you’re doing – a variety of things!