You may have a FaceBook account already, and if you do, then you know what FaceBook is and how it works. You might not know that FaceBook can be a great way to advertise/"sell" your business, though, and get it much more exposure. Because FaceBook is so powerful as a social networking tool, it can also be one of the best networking tools for businesses to create interaction and networking so that they become much better known.
Using a FaceBook "fan page" versus a "group"
Most FaceBook users are private users, whereby they have to approve anybody who sees their information. However, you can set up a fan page whereby anyone can see your information; this allows your information to be indexed, which makes it much easier for search engines to pick it up. And once people can see you, of course, they can sign up for information from you or just come and visit, which simply increases awareness of who you are and what you do.
Getting started with FaceBook
To first get on FaceBook, go in, sign up, and get an account. You don’t have to worry about specifics right now; just get set up. Register yourself and start experimenting with how FaceBook works.
Once you have an account with FaceBook, you can connect with others in your community. To do this, you can use FaceBook’s "search" function, whereby you can locate people that you either know or think you may have something in common with. You can ask people to be friends with you directly (if you know them) or peruse people who may share your industry knowledge and simply send messages asking them to introduce themselves. With the "friends of friends" networking that can occur from the friends YOU have contacted and/or who have contacted you, you’ll see that contact lists will grow pretty quickly. And chances are, there will be somebody in there that you can network with to help grow your business.
You can also create or join groups that do something like your organization does in some way, such as if you are in Internet technologies, for example. If you create new groups (where there is not one existing) or you join ones that already exist, you can share information between groups, join discussions, share pictures among you, and make announcements that are occurring within your business or industry that others will find interesting. If you want exposure and you’re going to create a group, make sure you create an open group so that others can easily find you, too. That way, those who join your group and find it interesting can invite others to join, too.
If you have events, you can promote those, too. You can also have people RSVP for webinars, chats, and so on, anything that’s going to make your business much more high profile within your industry. You can also start a blog and have people make comments there as well.
Finally, you can also promote your newsletter a blog on FaceBook, so that others can see it and perhaps subscribe to it. Set up an RSS feed, too, so that others can be easily notified about what’s happening.
Don’t worry about knowing all of this right from the start. Simply get in and start experimenting with FaceBook to see what it can do for you. Chances are, you’ll have loads of fun networking with others and making your business grow — so much so, in fact, that you may almost forget that you’re doing "work." And that’s what it’s all about, isn’t it?
I was talking with one of my clients this past week and she was telling me how it seems that everyone has a Page on Facebook these days…hair salons, auto repair shops and yes, even pest control companies! “I know,” I replied! But how many of these Pages are actually good? How many were impressive enough that you “liked” them? How many would you want to visit more than once?
