KEY TAKEAWAY – Your business needs to have a presence on Facebook. That’s where your prospects hang out, and so should you.
Once you’re on your way toward building a 5-star online reputation for your business, there are some other very valuable internet channels you’ll want to leverage further.
We’ve already looked at Google, Yahoo, Bing, Merchant Circle and other business directories as some of the most valuable online “real estate” you can use to improve your company and brand visibility.
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So It’s Quiz Time Again!
Have you ever heard of…
• Facebook
• LinkedIn
• Twitter
Of course you have! They’re some of THE most popular “social media” websites online today. And they’re free for you to use in marketing your business!
Social media is the fastest growing segment of the internet by far over the last several years.
Interactive social sites like Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn are among the best known examples of this exploding internet phenomenon.
And with 1.23 billion monthly users, Facebook.com is the most popular social media website in use today.
Facebook is an online community where people come together to share information, messages and pictures; have discussions; form like-minded interest groups; and engage with each other using a common, free and easy-to-use technology platform.
It’s estimated that over 1 million U.S. companies have already built a presence on Facebook, and many more are rushing now to claim and set up their own free business pages.
So go where your new potential customers are. If they’re on Facebook, then build your own business page there. Post interesting and valuable content regularly and you’ll start attracting Followers.
Just like Google, Yahoo and Bing, Facebook requires you to open a personal account / profile. Business Pages opened are associated with your personal profile.
Most businesses use their business Pages in Facebook as another eyeball-rich channel that captures their prospects’ attention.
Again, its main purpose is to help new prospects find you and get to know you better. From there you can send them to your website to learn even more about your products & services.
Your type of business doesn’t actually have to sell anything on Facebook. You use it simply to connect with new prospects, giving them just another way to get to know you, to like you, to interact with you, to trust you.
Be aware, though – if you choose to use social media in your overall marketing strategy, it’s a significant on-going commitment you’re making. If it’s not kept up with, it can damage your credibility and brand.
Regularly posting new content is a must (daily is best). Also, be ready to enter promptly into discussions with your visitors as they post comments and occasionally ask questions.
This kind of engagement helps humanize your company, legitimize your brand and get new prospects into yours sales funnel.
Yes, it does take some work, and sometimes it’s difficult to accurately measure the ROI you get from your social media marketing investment.
But still, a billion users, all those prospective clients… It’s always a good idea to show up where your prospects like to congregate.
There is, though, one additional way Facebook can drive measurable numbers of qualified prospects to your website for subsequent conversion into customers.
Facebook’s own ads (PPC, where you pay for each ad clicked, or CPM, where you pay for how many times your ads are shown) are an effective way to do that with your ideal audience.
Advertisers like you have access to incredibly detailed demographic data on the 1.2 billion people who use Facebook regularly. No other social media platform – not even Google – allows you to micro-target new prospects so accurately with your advertisements. Compared to Google AdWords PPC costs, Facebook advertising is still a bargain.
NEXT UP: We’ll take a quick look at the other 2 huge social media sites where you need a presence for your business – LinkedIn and Twitter.
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