Do I need Facebook for my Business?

Facebook’s more than one billion users make it a cultural, economic and social phenomenon. The importance of the online social media site to journalism, business, communication and social relationships is hard to overstate, with users across the world devoting countless hours to the site and Facebook becoming an increasingly important way of obtaining information not only about friends and family but also about world events. Whether it’s good or bad is debatable, but the site’s impact is unquestionable.

Transformation of communication ways

Do you realise the ways that people acquire information have been changing significantly overtime? In the old days, they mainly obtained information from newspaper, radio and television. These sources, however, are quite limited because they only work well locally. Although these traditional media of communication are still being used, the internet world has quietly emerged as a new and more effective way of information flows.

Differences between Facebook marketing and traditional marketing

What are the main differences or characteristics of Facebook marketing as compared with traditional marketing? The answer is that the former is more focused on content sharing and creating a viral marketing effect. It is not that kind of face-to-face marketing anymore. Therefore, traditional ways of marketing would not be effective enough. By making good use of Facebook marketing techniques, your target customers base can be expected to grow much faster in this new world.

It is observed that Facebook users tend to enjoy content sharing. For example, they like to post their own recent photos or share information about the good restaurants they have tried. Since social networking works to connect people, giving good comments or recommendations by Facebook users to their friends on Facebook would be a more effective way to promote. Trustworthy recommendations tend to have stronger positive effect than normal advertising. This would further create a viral marketing effect as good messages are passed on from one person to another by word-of-mouth along a chain. Therefore, in order to become successful in Facebook marketing, companies should promote their products, services and brand-names by building trust among their target audiences on the Facebook network, and goodwill would then be created and spread out easily.

Why Use Facebook for Your Business?

When you start your business, many things have to be taken into account. Amongst the tons of seemingly more important things, you might question the need for using Facebook. Often people end up feeling that it is too trivial a task and can be accomplished at anytime. Here are some reasons why you should have your presence on a social networking giant like Facebook and take it very seriously:

Customer Interaction: Having your business on Facebook through a fanpage or a group is a great way to learn more about your customers. Through comments or posts, you get to have direct feedback and conversations with your target audience. The people who like your fanpage or join your group are only there because they want to be. They are there to know what they can about you and you can do the same thing.
Give a personal touch to your business: Being well connected is important for any business, especially for a small one. You need to be able to communicate with people and grow your contacts. The best possible way to do that is through direct involvement. Facebook allows you to give your business an image and then you can actually have live conversations with people who matter, making it a more personal experience then what you get on a TV.
Develop a loyal fan base: Facebook allows you to develop your very own community. All you need to do is, post links and content that is both relevant and useful. You can even have promotional campaigns and contests through your page and offer incentives as well. If done correctly, you will find that you can develop a loyal community for your business on Facebook.
SEO: Search Engine Optimization is a key aspect for anyone who wants to build a significant presence on the web. Having a Facebook page for your business can help you in yourSEO efforts as well. All the links and posts on the page are indexed by search engines. So having a page flowing with continuous relevant content will definitely give you a jump in search engine rankings.
Beat your competition: One of the biggest reasons for you to make sure that you are on Facebook is that your competition might already be there. In this cut throat environment, lagging behind will make it really hard for your business to succeed.
Viral promotion: If someone ends up liking your page then it appears in their news feed. This makes it possible for your business to be in their eyes on a regular basis through status updates or content posting. What’s more, if they comment on your post, their friends will also see your post and this will help in viral promotion of your business.
Facebook Ads: Your business at Facebook is not just limited to a fan page or a group. Facebook also offers you a chance to put up advertising campaigns. You can build your advertisements, and as per your budget requirements, go for a campaign suitable for your business. You can also choose the set of people to whom these ads will be visible. You can target your ads on the basis of demographics, educational level, interests etc. It is also up to you to decide how often these ads will appear.
Save money: Apart from these facts, Facebook already has people addicted to it. This means you do not have to look for customers – they are already there.

How to Make the Best Use of Facebook?

Many people feel that simply having a page or a group on Facebook is enough to help their company. It cannot be further from the truth. In fact, if you are not going to use it properly, then it can be more disadvantageous than not being on Facebook.

Make sure that you do not leave your page or group after a few days. It reduces participation and gives your business a bad name. Do not spam through your pages, it is the simplest way to lose customers. Make sure that your fans and members are rewarded for being there. You could give them free coupons via Facebook or something similar.

Facebook has really changed the way people go about promoting their business. With so many people with varied interests available on a single platform, there is something for everyone. All you need to do is find the right target audience and then market your business to them.