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In 2004, a college student named Mark Zuckerberg was sitting in his dorm room at Harvard, busily working on a project destined to usher in a new era of online communication. Today, Facebook boasts more than 1 billion users worldwide. As a Fortune 500 company, Facebook is big business in its own right. For the millions of individuals and businesses who use it, Facebook represents a wealth of business opportunities. If your company is one of the few that has yet to establish a Facebook presence, use this guide to get started.
Facebook Statistics to Get Your Attention
According to Statistic Brain, more than 50 percent of registered Facebook users log in to their accounts daily — many before they have washed their face, brewed a cup of coffee or gotten out of bed. While logged in, the average user will spend 20 minutes a day surfing and catching up on news with a network that averages 130 friends per user. Facebook can be translated into more than 70 languages and has a presence on nearly every continent. This is nothing short of a miracle from a company with less than 5,000 employees worldwide. Finally, with more than 1 million links shared every 20 minutes, this is reason enough for your company to develop a social presence on Facebook.
Setting Your Business Up for Facebook Success
The following tips can get your company off on the right foot to initiate conversations and develop relationships with colleagues and customers on Facebook. You may want to use a Web development company to assist with the setup process.
Use a Facebook page for marketing
A personal profile is designed for an individual to “friend” and be “friended” on a personal level. A page is designed for personalities, companies, products, and services to promote what they have to offer to the Facebook community. Unlike personal profiles, pages also offer extra features like tracking, statistics, demographics, landing page customization, use of apps, and broadcast campaigns.
Choose a succinct and recognizable Facebook URL name
Your Facebook URL is the Web “handle” customers and colleagues will use to find you on Facebook. For most businesses, the company name is sufficient. For a company like Epicvin offering free VIN check and detailed car history report, the recognizable name used on Facebook makes it easier for customers to find them and patronize the service.
Create a goal to monitor your progress on Facebook
If you know what you are aiming toward, this makes it easier to make adjustments. For instance, if you want Facebook-related sales to teens to increase by 20 percent, create a campaign appealing to teens.
Keep your personal and business Facebook interactions separate
The most important rule of bringing your business onto Facebook is to keep your personal life away from your business life. Facebook offers various privacy control levels to do this.
Link your business Facebook and Twitter accounts
If you do not have time or interest in maintaining a presence on Twitter as well, Facebook makes it easy to do so with automatic account linking from your page.
Post dynamic content and engage in conversations
The beauty of Facebook is the opportunity to engage in real-time discussions with colleagues and customers. To do this, however, you must designate someone in your company to maintain a presence on Facebook during business hours.
Respond to all negative content ASAP
If a user posts negative feedback or commentary on your Facebook page, the best response is a fast and honest response. Dealing with negative feedback quickly and honestly sends a strong message about your company’s integrity and customer focus.
Consider using Facebook campaigns to boost “likes”
Facebook also offers the option to create customized campaigns to boost likes and sales. You can set your daily budget for as little or much as you can afford and monitor the campaign’s progress.
Optimize your page for sales
A Web developer or IT-savvy colleague can help you optimize your Facebook page for sales. A number of third-party apps now exist to facilitate sales right from your page, too.