News & Columns > Kathy Bowling > Bowling for Business: I Saw it First on Facebook

Bowling for Business: I Saw it First on Facebook

7 Ways to put Facebook to Work for Your Business

By Kathy Bowling
Monday, October 26, 2009

By Michele Blake, an associate of Mountain Marketing Group, filling in for an ailing Kathy Bowling.

I admit it. Not only do I get my sports updates on Facebook, but I am guilty of sometimes getting my news there as well.

The Balloon Boy incident was such a hit on Facebook that it led to the creation of a FB game. (Photo by Dave Henderson.)

Just last week, I got the play-by-play of Balloon Boy's adventures, including his probable altitude and cruising speed, from my Facebook news feed. I also knew from my Facebook friends when he touched down, and I could virtually hear the collective sound of surprise when thousands of people realized there was no one inside! (Which of course begs the question: Is Balloon Boy really Balloon Boy if he was never really on board in the first place?)

I'm not advocating we get all of our news on social networking sites, but it's a sign of Facebook's growing influence when information we used to get from other sources is now arriving first via FB status updates.

When Mark Zuckerberg, a Harvard freshman, started Facebook in 2004, it was strictly a way for Harvard students to get to know each other better. In just a few months, Facebook became so wildly popular that other colleges were invited to join, then high school students. In August 2005, Mark began running Facebook as a business and made it available to the rest of us.

Facebook now has 300 million users worldwide. That's an increase of 50 million users in just two months, an astounding rate of growth. Mark Zuckerberg says these numbers underline Facebook's reputation as "one of the largest properties on the Internet," with an audience large enough to "encompass almost every man, woman, and child in the United States."

According to data from Facebook, in September 2009, there are now 84,596,240 million Facebook users in the United States alone, a 101% increase since January of this year.

And, if that's not a compelling enough reason to pay attention, Facebook now has the top market share among social networking sites. Just last year, in September 2008, Facebook had a less-than-20% market share. By September 2009, its market share grew to 60%, making it the number one social networking site. (By comparison, Twitter has less than a 2% market share.)

Still don't believe Facebook is a force to be reckoned with? The Facebook community is bigger than the population of all but three countries in the world. Right now it is thefourth largest site in the world, behind only Google, Yahoo, and Microsoft. And if Facebook continues at its current rate of growth, it will be bigger than Google in just two and a half years.

If your business is not on Facebook, it should be. Your customers (and your competitors) are already there.

Here are seven more reasons to get started putting Facebook to work for your business:

1. Facebook Pages are free and easy to set up. In today's economy, can any business afford to turn down free marketing?

2. The new Pages format launched in March 2009 gives businesses the same ability to post content that will appear in their fan's News Feeds—a huge benefit that increases visibility and promotes conversation.

3. The measurement tools on Facebook are a marketer's dream! View the number of visitors to your business page, the number of subscribers (as well as unsubscribers and resubscribers), the demographics of fans, the number of interactions per week and type of interactions, the quality of posts; and more.

3. Create high-quality content. Facebook Pages now provides the same multi-media functionality and customized tabs previously reserved for individual page owners. Set up tabs for photos, video, discussion, industry-related blogs, customer reviews. You can even direct advertising to different landing pages to measure the success of any given promotion.

4. Third-party applications can be integrated into your Facebook Page to keep users on your page longer. You can add games, quizzes, even let your fans vote on topics of your choosing.

5. Engage your customers in dialogue. Marketing is now a two-way conversation. If you're not hearing from your customers, chances are they're talking to a competitor who will listen. Ask questions. Find out what they appreciate about your service and what challenges they face in their business.

6. Facebook Pages have become almost a second home page for many businesses, and Facebook takes the mystery out of Search Engine Optimization. By following a few simple tips when you set up your page, you can increase the odds of your page showing up in a Google search.

7. Finally, you'll need your own personal Facebook page before you can set up a business page. I also highly recommend using this page to build trust. People do business with people they know and like, so use your personal page to let your personality and other interests shine. Sure, go ahead and put business posts on your personal page from time to time, but don't post business tidbits daily — reserve that for your business page. Instead, mention what your family is doing this weekend (unless, of course, you're building a weather balloon as part of an elaborate television hoax). Recommend other products or businesses when they're really worthwhile. Weigh in on the latest football game (even if your team is the underdog) or even ballot issues, if it matters to you. Even if people don't agree with you, they'll see you as transparent and, more important, trustworthy.

Remember, Facebook doesn't replace your current sales tools, and yes, you can still do business the old-fashioned way. Once you decide to Facebook, you're not giving up traditional marketing — you're simply doing both. Setting up a business persona on Facebook is the fastest, easiest way to increase the buzz about your business. And you won't need an empty, metallic hot air balloon to do it.

Michele Blake, an associate of Mountain Marketing Group (Photo by Michele Blake.)

This article was first published on Sunday, October 25, 2009 at 4:40 pm. This article has been viewed 799 times.

Kathy is the Chief Operating Officer at Mountain Marketing Group, a boutique advertising and public relations agency located in Lake Arrowhead, California. She has also worked as a staff member, public relations consultant and/or freelance writer for several non-profit organizations such as Azusa Pacific University, the City of Glendora, Foothill Presbyterian Hospital and St. Bernardine Medical Center.

Her writing has appeared in numerous regional and national publications such as A & U Magazine, Christianity Today, Woman's World Magazine, San Bernardino Sun, and Healthwise. Mountain Marketing Group clients include architects, builders, business developers, business consultants, church and para-church organizations, claims management corporations, contractors, financial advisors, real estate brokers, health care practitioners, health & beauty experts and more.

Kathy studied at Azusa Pacific University and the University of Colorado at Boulder, graduating with a BA in Communication Studies and a minor in Business Administration.

The views expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect those of RIMOFTHEWORLD.net. This column is copyrighted by Kathy Bowling.