Facebook Essentials for Businesses

Do I need to have a Facebook account? Should I create a fan page to promote my business?
These are questions that are commonly asked by my clients, especially ones that are just starting a business, or have recently rebranded or freshened up their web site.  The answer is very simple – yes.
Simply starting an account and creating a fan page on Facebook isn’t enough, though. It’s also not as important to get thousands of fans as quickly as possible.  Like most things in life, it’s about substance and quality. The purpose of social media marketing is to engage people, connect with them, offer them more than a product or service. Offer them a way to connect to you and/or your company on a personal level. After all, it's all about being social.

Appeal to the Masses
Facebook recently stated that it has over 400 million users and the average user has about 120 friends and spends about an hour and a half per day socializing. Many users, when invited to “Become a fan of.. “   will simply click and accept.  They may spend a few minutes on the page on their first visit, but rarely view it again if it appears to be a ghost town.  The key to getting and keeping fans, is to engage them, offer more than one-liners. E.g. “Save 20% on all products, click here!”  Remember, this is personal time and most people hate ads to begin with, so don’t make your fan page one big lump of scrolling text ads.  

Let people know you’re human!
Add photos, videos, create events, offer free stuff, talk/chat/write to people, answer posts with a personal flare – make it personal.  Add links to other social networks like MySpace, Twitter and maybe even Google’s new Buzz.  Don’t be afraid to go off-topic, comment on the Olympics, the home run by Jason Bay or the triple-double by Lebron James.   

Participate
If you have a fan page, or are thinking of starting one you have to invest in it.  I’m talking about time, not money, although the latter might be involved.  You can’t go weeks without posting or replying.  Everyday something has to be published, albeit links, text video or pictures – it has to be something. If your fan page is active, people will want to engage.  If it’s not, they won’t waste their time.

Click here If you want to create a Facebook fan page