How To Use Facebook As A Tool For Your Business

There are a lot of companies already using Facebook successfully  to promote their business.  With 400 million users now out there, Facebook is no longer the domain of the college student it once was. 

There are many reasons why you should use Facebook as a marketing tool.  The main reasons are that you can use it to acquire new clients, you can stay in touch with existing clients and you can  promote new products and/or services.   It's also a great PR tool.Facebook currently offers you many tools, to be successful in marketing your business you must have an understanding of these tools.  The two main areas that you as a business owner need to focus are on Facebook Fan Pages and Facebook Groups.

Facebook Fan Pages

You can use Facebook Fan Pages to create and give your business their own profile on Facebook; the best thing is that currently these are free to create.  By creating your own business's page on Facebook you'll strengthen your brand.  Prospective or current  customers can become fans of your page. By doing this it allows them to follow you and receive any updates that you post to your page.

One of the great things about Facebook Fan Pages are that every time someone becomes a fan of your page all of their friends see that they have become a 'fan'.   This has a two pronged effect, firstly it often attracts others to follow your page as well.  Secondly it creates a 'buzz' regarding your business and your Facebook Fan Page.

You can use your Facebook Fan Page for many things such as sharing your company information, posting photos, videos, applications and messages.   Any activity that you perform on your Facebook Fan Page is then broadcast into the mini-feeds of your followers.

When creating your Facebook Fan Page, you will be given a choice of three options when you start out. You will be asked whether your page is for:

• A Local Business
• A Brand or a Product
• An Artist, Band or a Public Figure

Obviously you'll select the one that's most appropriate depending on whether you want to promote your business locally, or you want to promote your brand or a product or are you working to promote an artist, band or public figure.

Each of these categories will provide you with an opportunity to complete your basic information, detailed information or your contact information.   Each option will provide you with a page that enables you to provide different ways of showing your information. It's important to note that you can't edit your page type once you select it, and also remember that the page type that you select will categorise your page with other like pages in that category.  This is why it is important that you you select the correct category to be displayed in.

Your Facebook Fan Page, when set up correctly can be used to bring in new customers as well as to help you maintain current customer relationships.

Facebook Groups

Facebook Groups, are similar to Facebook Fan Pages, however the the main difference is they are built around a group of people rather than your business or your brand. You must be a member of Facebook to create a Facebook Group. In order to create a group just login to Facebook and then click on the Groups link in the main menu on the left hand side of the page.

You can use Facebook Groups to create awareness, but they do not have the feature that allows users to become fans, they only become members. The downfall of this is it will not share as much information with friends of "group" members as they interact with the group.

So which do I choose?

Well that depends on the goal you want to achieve with marketing on Facebook. In reality you will gain more exposure from a Facebook Page, as it can be seen by unregistered users, but a group page can only be seen by registered Facebook users.   If you're thinking that feature alone should make it easy for you to decide, well you'd be wrong.  You also have to consider that when you send a message to Facebook Fan Page members, they  only receive an update notification.  However, if you are sending a message to your Facebook Group they will receive the message via their Facebook inbox.  If you need to be able to communicate in a personal way, then the  Facebook Group option may be a better fit for you.

Need help in setting up your presence on Facebook or just need to need know more, then why not book a Free no hassles, no obligation  "Your Business and the Internet” review (valued at $197.00)?