When discussing social media the first venue mentioned is usually Facebook. Facebook has over a billion users and continues to grow at an astronomical rate. Facebook is largely known for personal use but can be used very effectively for business purposes as well. Facebook is built for sharing information so it lends itself very well to the basic concept of Inbound Marketing <link> – sharing valuable content and relationship building. Following are steps to setting up and using Facebook for business:
- The Facebook Page – A Facebook page has four basic components. First is the Profile Photo. It’s recommended that the company logo be used here. Second is the Cover Image. This can vary but the objective should be to draw the attention of visitors. Third is the About section. This section should highlight the benefits of doing business with the company as well as differentiating factors. Fourth are the Tabs. These are the squares to the right of the about section. These should focus on promoting engagement with those who visit the page.
- Posting Content – Information posted to a business Facebook page should be useful to the target audience. Whereas the premise of a personal Facebook page is to share information about the owner of the page – the main focus of a business Facebook page is to share information about the audience. Statistics show that posts with images are the most effective. To take this concept one step further – posting images that convey the intended message are the most powerful.
- Building a Following – The objective of Facebook is to have people like your page so they’re notified when postings are made. Facebook actually contains a Build Audience option which will allow you to ask existing contacts to connect. There are options to connect to existing email services such as constant contact or vertical response or to upload a contact list from a file. This option will send an email to people on the contact list making it easy for them to connect to your page. Also, including a Facebook Like button or box on the company website, blog and emails can attract people.
- Advertising – To have an effective Facebook strategy it’s becoming more and more important to include Facebook Ads. These include the ability to target specific audiences by demographic information as well as other criteria. Ads on Facebook generally will direct the person to your Facebook page, website or another link.
