Facebook Tool To Generate Exposure – Facebook 101 Series

What could be better than potential exposure to a massive audience of for FREE?  Let me make sure you catch this…..”exposure to a massive audience for FREE”.  What am I referring to is… Facebook.  It currently has over 400 million active users worldwide. So whatever your industry and however big your business is, you are likely to find an enormous audience on Facebook. This social networking site allows businesses to create a fan page, free of charge. According to Facebook Press Room published statistics there are more than 20 million people that become fans of Pages each day.  Facebook also just made it easier to become a fan of your page by simply clicking “Like” rather than clicking “Become a Fan”.  They feel it will increase the number of connections to quicker.   This is part of their plan announced this month to turn the web into one giant cocktail party by allowing users to share their interests across the web.  Your Facebook business page is the face of your business on the social network.  So now more than ever it is important that you take the time and effort to make it part of your social media marketing plan.

Getting Started

To start on your Facebook business page visit the network’s advertising page and go to “Create a Page”.  If you have a personal Facebook profile the process is a little easier for you. To start with you will need company information you want to display on your business page, your business logo and pictures that you wish to upload. It is recommended that you use your business logo as your profile picture. This will help publicize it and also make it easily recognizable for existing and potential customers.  Pages have created more than 5.3 billion fans to date.

Creating the Business Page

Select a business category and enter your business information. Now you are all set to set up your Facebook business page. Your business profile page should resemble a personal profile page. The business page is essentially divided into three columns. The left column will feature your business logo, list of fans, business information and admin links. The central column is dedicated to your business information with a special emphasis on the latest on your business and updates on your Facebook business page. The column by default features the Wall and also has links that visitors can open. For instance while the business page would have brief business information, a more comprehensive feature can also be opened. This column will also have the tabs for the Facebook applications you subscribe to, such as RSS.

For those of you that have a marketing budget that you are willing to use, the column on the right is dedicated to Facebook paid advertising.  Facebook allows you to set up targeted ads on your product, website, Fan Page, Event, or Application easily for a charge.

It is important that your Facebook business fan page is regularly updated and this is reflected on the profile pages on your fans automatically. So, even if a fan doesn’t visit your business page they are kept updated on the latest offers and news from your business. It is a good idea to offer valuable and interesting content and not send out business updates so often that is considered as spam.

Facebook Applications

Now that your business page is ready you need to explore the Facebook applications that will make it easier and fun to manage the page.  You can also add discussion groups to encourage interaction between fans and to discuss business and industry related information. Use the reviews applications to get honest feedback from your customers and fans. This is a great way to understand how your business can be improved. You could also add a video application and a photo application that allows you to upload pictures and share them with your fans.

The Facebook Fan page gives you a great platform for your business.  The customers have already stated they “Like” or have “Become a Fan” so they are truly engaged in your message.   So do you still want to miss out on free Facebook exposure?

Copied from: http://socialsmarty.com/social-networking-101/facebook-tool-to-generate-exposure-facebook-101-series/