How to Use Facebook for Business and Marketing Effectively

Facebook can be a valuable asset to businesses big and small that are looking for ways to take advantage of the changing world of networking. Just how popular has it become? Next time you see a print ad or TV commercial, count the number of businesses that advertise their Facebook page.

Below are a few suggestions for how your business can take advantage of Facebook:

Separate personal page from fan page

Personal Facebook pages are what we use to post status updates and cute photos of our pets or kids. But if you’re representing your company, you should create an Fan Page. Some marketing experts warn against creating a Facebook Group for your business, saying they do not support Facebook Apps and are not very interactive. With a Fan Page, you can focus on your business and not worry about personal information getting mixed up with your business page. In other words, you can still grow virtual crops without it interfering with your company’s Facebook page.

Think of a memorable title for your page

You won’t be able to change the title of your page, so think of one that relates to your business and/or uses the name of your business. You want to make sure that people can easily find your company. You can set up a username after you obtain 25 fans – and that makes it easier for people to access your profile. Apply the username to your Facebook page, too.

Customize your page

Start filling out the relevant information and upload a profile photo. Give as many relevant details about your business that you can think of. Remember, anyone who’s reading your profile wants information about your business. You can customize your page, too, instead of using the default settings. Companies like Pagemodo allow you to give your Facebook page a unique look, too, with lots of bells and whistles.

See a return on investment through special offers

So you’ve put in a lot of time creating and customizing your Facebook page. You’ve sent out friend requests, downloaded contacts and have used other social media outlets to spread the word. But the bottom line is sales, and if you want to gauge how effective your Facebook marketing efforts are, offer specials, discounts and coupons that are exclusive to your Facebook page. That way, you can gauge how effective your Facebook marketing efforts are by the number of coupons or coupon codes that are redeemed.

Engage your community, update your status

You want people coming back to your Fan Page, and one way to do that is to regularly update your status and allow users to comment on your page. Say your karate studio is hosting a tournament this weekend. You can promote it through your studio’s Facebook page with photos, status updates, etc. The more your engage your fans, the more visible your site is to your fans’ friends.

These simple to implement concepts will improve your marketing effectiveness on Facebook.