This is the fourth installment of a five part series: Social Media For Beginners: Facebook
1. If you run a business, you must be on Facebook. The numbers tell the tale. There are over 500 milllion people on Facebook. The more powerful number however is that 50% of those people log into Facebook daily. That's a huge audience that you cannot overlook. There is no reason why your business shouldn't have a Facebook page. Even if you have highly sensitive information that isn't appropriate for sharing etc, people expect to be able to find you on facebook. If you're company has sensitive information then start a page and only add contact details, and perhaps just some information about your business. Think of a Facebook page as a natural extension of your business. For many people Facebook has become the Internet. They send email, instant messages and glean information about the brands they love. If you're not there, you have an issue.
Silverback Social Facebook Page
2. Facebook pages are not websites. They are not linear animals. The key for your business is going to be engagement with you community on Facebook. The reason is that you want to have fans "like" your page, and share your content. Once they "like" you page they're now listening. It's up to you to create content on your wall that will post into their news feed. It helps to wrap some management around the manner in which you post on your wall. Ensure that you have defined "types" of content. At Silverback Social we look at it this way: you should have information that positions you as a thought leader, information that stimulates conversation, and information that's unique to Facebook, like sweeps, coupons or some other offer that your fans can't find anywhere else. Give them a reason to "like" your page.
3. The news feed is the life blood of Facebook. When those 250,000 people log in daily they come to their home page. They review what their friends are up to in the news feed. When Facebook first made this change, people thought Mark Zuckerberg was crazy. The reality is that he is a genius, and has created an ecosystem that is very favorable for your brand. Each wall post alone may mean nothing, but soon, if you have a schedule of appropriate content the user "fan" starts to expect to see your wall post when they log in to Facebook. Each post starts to tell a story. Think of it as a monet painting where each brush stroke alone means nothing, but together they tell your brands story. They create the painting of your brand. This is a powerful branding tool, and you should leverage this appropriately.
4. It's NOT about getting thousands of fans, it's about engagement. If you have millions of fans that don't listen to you, or engage with you, they're useless. Give them something to hold onto.Give them content to share, that stimulates them, and that means something to your brand. Also, don't forget to give thanks. In digital marketing as in life, it's important to take a moment and thank those that have made your brand possible. Don't be afraid to connect with your consumers by thanking them. It will go a long way, I promise.
Over and out.