Can Your Business Benefit From Facebook Marketing? by Mark Maupin

Facebook is to marketing what space was to man - a vast frontier which is dangerous, yet lucrative. There are untapped resources in both places, virtual and astronomical. To be able to take advantage of marketing on Facebook, you have to know what it takes to find success, and this article explains it all. Marketing through the use of Facebook tabs is an easy and efficient way to get the word out. Why not create a "Promotions" tab and highlight items you have on sale, coupons you've made available or even contests you're running. It's a great way to allow your followers to easily keep up with what's going on. Connect your Facebook page with others who are willing to help spread the word for you. If you want to get the ideal results from using Facebook, the key is to have an insane number of people that Like your page. If you have someone on your side, it can be easy to acheive this. Link all of your content to your Facebook page. For example, link your blog to your Facebook so that a summary of every post appears automatically on your page. Your Twitter account can be linked to Facebook, as well, so your tweets go to your Facebook too. Do not hesitate to share links to other sites on Facebook. If you come across an article or a video your audience will be interested in, think about sharing it on Facebook. It is best to avoid sharing links to website you are in competition against or you could lose customers. Write posts with real value. Facebook isn't just about informal conversation. Those that supply meaty posts will often find that there's a big audience out there just looking for that type of content on the platform. Be that person or company that delivers exactly that type of content. You'll see great returns. If you are going to share images with your fan base, make sure that you know exactly who or what is being portrayed. Posting a picture of one person and saying it is someone else is a very terrible faux pax. It may give people the idea that they are not individuals in your eyes. If you want to use Promoted Posts, do so only with your current fan base. When a non-fan sees "Promoted", they think it's a "Sponsored Ad" and tend not to click on it. Your current fans won't think that way as they already know who you are and what you do, and obviously like it. Never, ever, EVER pay for Facebook fans! Facebook can tell if your fans are engaged in your page or not, and the more fans you have who don't check out your page, the worse your EdgeRank will be. You want fans who really are interested in your products, so let them come naturally. Provide value in every post you make on your Facebook page. That is, your posts should always benefit your readers in some way, whether it be tips or helpful information on a topic. Try not to "sell" too much, though, or your followers will quickly tire of seeing your name pop up on their news feed. Step one when it comes to creating a Facebook marketing campaign is to write down your goals. What exactly do you want to come out of all of your hard work? Do you want to increase profits? Do you want to retain loyal customers? Do you want to create relationships? Ask other people that you know for advice regarding Facebook if you are new to it. Facebook has been around for many years now, and thanks to this, many people have learned a great deal about how to effectively optimize a page on the site. You will likely be surprised at how much there is to learn. Post status updates on a regular basis. In order for your page to be seen, you will need to post things, such as status updates. These status updates should be relevant to your company and not random things that your audience will not care about. Try to post something at least every day or two. Make use of the post scheduling tool on Facebook. Keeping posts regular, rather than clumping them together and then leaving the page to sit, will draw more visitors. If you don't believe you will have time in the future to make weekly or daily posts, create several time-neutral posts at once and schedule them to appear at a later date. Respond to the questions and comments on your Facebook page. This means both in your inbox and the ones that are left on your page. This can eat up a lot of time, but the user engagement you get as a result is worth it. Post content regularly. Businesses that do not update Facebook at all are sometimes assumed to be shrinking or out of business. Businesses that post rarely are seen as lackadaisical or too casual. Try and post a few times a week to stay fresh in people's minds without being there every single day. With all of these tips in mind, prepare to begin your Facebook campaign planning process. Sit down and get to work creating goals, figuring out your target audience and deciding why you're doing what you want to do. Once you have the answers, you'll be ready to reach for success.