Other than the fact that Facebook has implanted itself into most of our lives by creating a popular platform to air our opinions, create and maintain relationships and provide a means of filling our downtime with its many applications, it has also become a virtual means of business development. With the constant growth of online business opportunities, Facebook is a creative and, need I say, cheap tool to promote not just your business but yourself as well.
Think about it. A social network where you can place your business and all its information; where it can be viewed by potential customers all over the world (over 410 million registered members); where you can have fans; where they add reviews and can act as referrals; how ingenious! It provides all you need in a virtual marketplace but you have to be able to utilize its potential before you are able to reap its many benefits. It is therefore key that you learn some of the ways that others have used Facebook as a means of professional networking.
When you have established a Facebook account, you should be aiming to add as
many friends and fans as possible. The more friends and fans you have, the more people are exposed to your product/service. Besides, you can usually see your friends’ friends and what better way to build your network and boost your marketing efforts? Posting comments on other people’s profile page in Facebook is a great way to extend your network of friends and profile viewers.
You can also join or create a group. This is perfect for drawing people to your profile page as they have something in common with you. Common interests could be wealth building, fashion design, good parenting or whatever pertains to your product or service.
Facebook’s Ads feature enables you to officially advertise or market your brand, business or products. For example, its Advanced Targeting feature can be used to target your niche market by age, gender, interests, location and more. By having this feature, you will be able to quickly find people that may be interested in purchasing the products or services that you are offering.
The News Feed feature is great for broadcasting what your business is up to. So if for instance you are offering discounts or launching a new product line, you can announce it to your Facebook network. Hosting an event and posting it in the News Feed will get people in your network interested and they may even tell other people in their network to join in the fun. This is a great way to promote a product or service.
Posting news articles is also a great way to get people’s attention in Facebook. This will generate targeted traffic. For example, if you are selling nutritional supplements, you may want to post the latest news on health related matters. This will generate targeted traffic that will most likely be interested in what you are marketing.
If you have an active Twitter account where you tweet very actively, do not connect Twitter and Facebook. Twitter is not Facebook and you will annoy your Facebook friends and force them to remove you as a friend or hide you from their feed. What could be worse?
Facebook’s marketing solutions, if used effectively, can promote brand loyalty and increase product sales. It is up to the marketer to use it to its full advantage. Whether you implement one, many or all of these tips, you will see marked improvement in your ability to connect with your potential consumers.
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