Facebook for business

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Can your business ignore over 720 million Facebook users? Of course not! But the question every offline business is grappling with is how to use Facebook for business? After all

Facebook for business

Facebook is for teenagers whiling away their time… or could there just be a case to argue in defence of Facebook for business.

The answer to this lies in how we use Facebook for business. You can leverage your existing offline campaigns with facebook marketing, but be sure that you include all elements of your campaign on Facebook. If you’re planning a launch, for example, mention it to your Facebook fans.

One of the first things you have to do when starting out a marketing campaign is to decide on a media budget: Believe it or not, the cost of the technology used for social network marketing is rather low; which is one of the big attractions when considering Facebook for business. For example, a blog costs nothing to start, whereas a podcast can cost up to $2,000, a wiki can cost up to $6,500 per year, and a video can cost up to $15,000. Whereas your Facebook page is FREE,so using Facebook for business is really a good deal .

Here are some ways that you can leverage your Facebook for business advantage:

Remember  Facebook is social, so people want to know more about your business… not just Turnover and product. Promote face-to-face events. You want people to attend your event, right? Mention it on your Facebook Page, and even link to any outside information you have posted, such as on your Blog. Better yet, to gain maximum impact using Facebook for business , create an event by using the status update box and get a jump on your head count on those RSVPs that are going to come rolling in via your Facebook Page.

Another great way to use Facebook for business  is to adapt your advertising campaigns for Facebook ads. If you’re going to use Facebook for business  remember to remain social and conversational in tone by creating short, attention-grabbing headlines and utilizing eye-catching pictures. You only have a limited number of characters to use in a Facebook ad, so make every character count.

Remember, when using Facebook for business, you need to adapt promotions so that they have a social element and drive awareness of your brand. Everyone loves freebies, and people also like to win promotions. When your fans know you’re running a promotion with a great prize, they’re more likely to not only enter the promotion but also refer their friends to your Page.

You can also sell your products in the Facebook Marketplace. Facebook Marketplace is the classifieds section of the Facebook Platform. You can advertise for vacancies, or place Services Offered ads, as well as sell anything from a 747 to houses to vehicles. When using Facebook for business you should also add the Marketplace tab to your Facebook Page so that all your fans know exactly what you’re selling on the Marketplace without them having to go to the sales-page to search.

If you’re new to this and wondering how much you should be spending on Facebook for business results; Try to allocate 25 percent of your traditional media budget to nontraditional media so that you can experiment.

Don’t forget: “Content is always king”! Hiring an online writer to create a steady stream of rich content that attracts the right audience is a sure way of gaining a foothold when using Facebook for business. Social writing is a specialised skill because the writing needs to be conversational. Headlines need to be provocative and entice the reader into wanting to know more. Above all, body copy needs to have a colloquial tone without a trace of sales or marketing speak.

As in any other marketing campaign, when using Facebook for business, you need to continually measure the effectiveness of what you’re doing. Measure and adapt…

I’ll be looking at other aspects of social media in future posts; So why not sign up for my newsletter to make sure you you get maximum benefit when leveraging Facebook for business results.