Your online network is growing. You are also seeing that businesses are on Facebook, too. And you "Like" these businesses, which gets you thinking: Do you create a page for your own organization, too?
It depends, really. First and foremost, are your customers or potential customers on Facebook? Second, what's your ultimate purpose for your page? Make sales? Raise brand awareness? Make connections? Create customer loyalty? Drive traffic to your website?
Jennifer Yeager is the Marketing Communications Manager for the Greater Richmond Partnership, Inc.
All of these are possible, except perhaps the "make sales." Shama Kabani, best-selling author and one of Business Week's Top 25 Under 25 entrepreneurs in North America, accurately pointed out that making a direct sale from your Facebook business page is fairly unlikely.
She said other smart things, too, at our local chapter of the American Marketing Association meeting in June. She presented, "Facebook Famous: How to Market your Business on the Biggest Social Networking Site."
Here are a few highlights she shared mixed with other experiences that you can use immediately:
Clearly define the purpose for your page. Clearly state your purpose on the page. Will someone benefit from "Liking" your page? What will they learn? State why they should join.
Build your page around identity-not yours, your AUDIENCE'S. How and what you share and communicate on your page should be reflective of your fans. Talk your fans' language, not your corporate lingo.
Build OUT, not IN Facebook. Yes, despite its enormity, one day Facebook may no longer exist. Therefore, you don't want to create your content ON Facebook. Create it on your website or blog. Then, share it on your page (and Twitter, and LinkedIn, and YouTube, SlideShare, and so forth.)
Create good Facebook landing pages. You can choose which tab on your page you want people to land on. If you're a photographer, have visitors land on your photos tab instead of the wall.
Use Facebook Ads wisely. There are currently 500,000 people on Facebook who readily give demographic information and share their interest (goldmine!). Therefore, you can be super focused and targeted in who you want to see your ad. Keep in mind, though, when people are on Facebook, they generally don't want to LEAVE Facebook. So have your ad land on a Facebook page. And if you must have them leave, take them some place very compelling.
State a response time. Your page is an easy way for your customers and clients to share their experience with your organization. This is a great opportunity to directly communicate and publicly demonstrate responsiveness. Since Twitter is more known for timely exchanges, be sure to state on your Facebook page a response time like "within a 24-hour period."
Essentially, before you launch your page, create a strategy and expectation, set a plan and then use measurement tools to track its effectiveness.
