Social media has become an important part of marketing any business
The undisputed king of social media is Facebook. Sites like Friendster and MySpace came and went. Twitter has advantages but also a number of limitations. Facebook is the one social media channel that can meet the needs of large and small companies alike.There are several ways to market a business on Facebook. The best strategy is to establish a "fan page" and invite people to "like" your page. In essence, Facebook lets you build your own mini-website on their site for free. From this vantage point, you can tap into Facebook's hundreds of millions of users, engage them and build your brand.
Here are seven tips to maximize your business fan page to grow your customer base and improve sales. Before you start, clarify your goals. What is the marketing goal of your Facebook fan page? Do you simply want to drive better brand engagement or do you want to increase bottom line sales. While both goals are possible, it is important to have a primary target.
Be Real
Many corporate websites appear cold, flat and boring. Be real! Talk about what is going on in the world. Are the Olympics being held? Talk about how you are proud of your country and the athletes. Has your town been blasted with a heat wave? Mention that and tie it in to your latest news and updates. Be upbeat, warm, engaging and informative. People will enjoy coming to the page and will tell their friends about it.
Post Regularly
Update your page with a new post on a weekly basis at a minimum. Anything less will not provide the frequency which is necessary to keep your message in front of your fans and potential prospects. If you have the time and manpower, try once a day for optimum effect.
Maximize SEO
Try to use keywords in your page name and address. For example, Tony Scarletti Freelance Web Design might put the city name in their fan page as well. They might call it Scarletti Boston Web Design. This helps them rank for the keywords "Boston Web Design."
Get A Reaction
Encourage involvement and feedback. A simple method of inviting feedback is to ask them to "like" a post if they agree. For example, you might say, "We love this new funky font we developed for a client's website! Like if you agree!" This starts the ball rolling and generates interaction and comments. All of these questions encourage deeper engagement for your brand.
Consider Contests
Contests are a great way to spark interest, enthusiasm and "likes," especially with a new fan page. They don't have to be elaborate. In fact, little quizzes and games work well. Give away freebies as prizes and make sure to congratulate the winners in a separate post.
Large contests should also maintain your brand's established image. Consider doing a co-promotion with a non-competing advertiser that targets the same customer demographic as you. They provide the contest prizes, and you handle all the promotion. Make sure you meet all state and federal rules regarding contests.
Create Value
Just like your website, your fan page should constantly add value for your fans and followers. Use video to demonstrate new and different ways to use your products and services. Invite fans to share how they use your product. Add recipes, travel ideas, photos of the product in action, ways to save money using the product-anything useful and informative that benefits your customers.
Promote Everywhere
Share your Facebook page everywhere. Add it to product packaging, use it in your advertising, put it on the signature file of all company emails, and display it on company vehicles. Make it easy for people to find you and they will.
Promote your Facebook fan page in your company newsletter, at events, customer appreciation days, sales, and community get-togethers. Add the web address to radio, TV and newspaper ads. Get the word out, create buzz and make the fan page a hub of activity.
Sketch out a marketing calendar for the next 12 months. Prepare now to have resources in place for later promotions. Set aside funds to promote during slow periods. Tie-in promotions and merchandising around national events, holidays and rituals.
A Facebook business fan page should is a "no-brainer" for every aggressive marketer. After the company website is built, the Facebook fan page should be next on the list. You simply cannot ignore their 900 million users.
Even more telling is the amount of time people spend on Facebook. TheSocialSkinny.com website reports Facebook users spend an average of well over 7 hours on the site every month! That translates into over 137 million unique visitors per month from the United States alone.
In short, Facebook is where your customers are. Set up a Facebook fan page and begin to interact with them. Think of Facebook as a free focus group. Your fans will give you their opinions and frustrations. All that feedback will make them more loyal. Even better, it will allow you to constantly improve your products and services.
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