Besides entertainment and sharing emotions, Facebook is actually and widely used for business promotion. Social networking promotion can be that simple. If your content engages your audience, then a little work with Facebook will take you a very long way.
Let’s get started with some of the basics to share news or any information you would like to share with your Facebook friends.
Join a Network
After signing up on Facebook, joining an appropriate network will help centralize Facebook around your area of focus. You can join one main area and add other networks. However; if your focus is not in one particular area, it would be a good idea to keep changing your network as is appropriate. You can change your area twice within any 60 day period.
Once your organization is popular enough, you can make your own Network, which will enable more people to interact with each other who can in any way relate to and benefit from your organization.
How to have lots of quality friends.
The more informative and attractive your profile is, the more chance of gaining friends. Put as much information of yourself and your company as possible. Put the website address and your blog address. Link your blog through RSS feed to your Facebook profile.
Of course having more friends on facebook means more exposure, but you do not want to spam, that may cause your account to be terminated. Remember with Facebook, quality is better than quantity.
First, determine your focus as what is the product you are promoting? What is the brand you wish to create? How should it look? How should it feel? Let’s take an example that you are selling IT related products through a website. You would now need to focus on what people will be more interested in about your product. No question, for this example, your answer is people who are related to IT! So now you will need to find IT related people.
1) Groups and Pages:
The best way to find such people would be joining the related groups and become fan of pages. You can join maybe groups called Window7, redhat, VoIP, C++, or MCSE. You can be more specific depending on your product. It is better to be active on these groups, you can write on groups wall, add pictures or videos, depending on what group is allowing you.
When adding friends, make sure you send a personalized message. The more attractive your message will be, the more chance you have to be accepted. Remember, try to make minimum request for most output. You do not want to go over 20 to 25 request a day, otherwise Facebook may think of you as a spammer and close your account.
Later I will discuss in detail how you can launch you Groups and Pages.
2) Sharing:
You can share informative articles or videos which you think other may like. Following are some of the things which you originally can share and further when it is shared by your friends will actually contain your name.
A. Notes- You can write you own tips or something worthwhile sharing.
B. Pictures- You can upload a funny or informative photos
C. Videos- Your own uploaded videos will contain your name, regardless how long is the chain goes.
When people who are not in your Facebook list, see and like what you share, they may request to join you. There is no limit for receiving friend request.
3) Socializing:
Social networking is all about socializing with friends, families and business partners. You need to be friendly, you can not succeed by only asking people to buy your product or talking to them about one thing all the time.
A. Status- Status is what your friends updated about you. Keep your status attractive and catchy, so your friends are always forced to read. You can update giving some information on your product or some time just a casual update, like what you are doing at this time.
B. Comments- Leave comments on other updates, pictures, videos or any sharing. Those who are not in your list but are in your friends list can also see your comments and may send you a friend request.
As mentioned above let now discuss to major Tools Facebook provides for you to keep your customer around your area of marketing. Facebook groups and Facebook pages. Both options offer you to create your companies or product profile or description.
A major difference in a Group and a Page is a Group can be created by any user and about any topic, as a space for users to share their opinions and interest in that subject. Pages can only be created to represent a real public figure, artist, brand or organization, and may only be created by an official representative of that entity.
Group:
To create a group go to facebook.com/groups/create.php and then fill in information about the type of group, and decide if it is open to a particular network (such as a and Area or an University network) or all of Facebook. You can set permissions for people groups so that they are either open to anyone, closed (where users must get administrator approval to join) or secret (that is you invite only). Open and Closed group can be found via search.
Groups have administrators that manage the group, approve applicants or invite others to join. Administrators can also appoint “officers” who are nominally in charge – however, being an officer doesn’t mean the person has the ability to administer the group.
Few things you can do when you have a group.
1. You can invite all your Facebook friends and than your friends and send a bulk invitation to their friend and their friends to their friend and so on.
2. A discussion wall is there, where you can engage members in discussing your product and keeping them updated.
3. You and our friends can add pictures and videos.
4. You can send message to all the member of your group.
5. Gorups can be shared.
Page:
Facebook page looks and behaves more like a user profile (for example, http://www.facebook.com/pages/Muhammad-Shomail-Haider/107337662938?ref=ts), where it promotes your product, to be a brand or a celebrity. To create page go to www.facebook.com/pages/create.php Facebook user instead of Friends becomes fan and Page cannot see its fan’s full profile. Profiles can only be used to represent an individual, and must be held under an individual name. You can also use your account to manage Facebook Pages that represent businesses or other organizations. You may only create Facebook Pages to represent real organizations of which you are an authorized representative, and fans of these Pages won't be able to see that you are the Page admin, or have any access to your personal account.
When someone becomes a fan it is shown on their profile, which their fans may see and might be a fan too, so it goes on and on to a extent. More importantly updates, feed and interaction with fans are important. You do need to keep your fans engaged with updates and feedbacks, which is essential to know what is your customers needs and wants are.
Few things to keep fans engaged.
1. Wall posts, where you can discuss about your product or new add-ons.
2. Add Pictures.
3. Start Discussion related to your product.
4. Add Notes and tag people on that note.
5. Create Events and invite people have a presentation about what you are providing.
Facebook allows you to create a username for you profile, page or group. Www.facebook.com/username is where you can create a user name for you facebook profile makes it easier to remember.
One thing which is very important to keep in mind is that these social network are made to socially connect to Friend, Families, colleagues and business partners. We can use them for business purposes but need to respect the core intention. Most of them including Facebook do offer paid advertisement which is of course lot more effective which I will be discussing in my next article. For now without me spamming you, we (you and I) will get the best out of social marketing.
There are many stories of successful businessmen who been using facebook for marketing. You can listen to this interview taken by Suzanne Bowen of Super Technologies, Inc. from a businessman with the similar story, http://www.didx.net/podcast/?p=episode&name=2009-07-15_eskyjonathan.mp3
Above mentioned are only few major things out for so much more you can do from this. However; the key is to be very friendly, exhibit quality, and make real social friends to fully take advantage of social marketing.
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