Did you know that Facebook is the second most visited site in the world?
Since February 2010, when Facebook beat out Yahoo!, it has been visited more than any other site in the world except for Google. In the United States last spring, Facebook actually surpassed Google as the most visited site of all, according to HitWise (Source: TechCrunch.com, March 2010).
You may have already jumped onto the social media marketing bandwagon, but maybe your bottom line isn’t seeing results. Before giving up Facebook marketing, however, check your approach to see if you are following these basic rules of social network marketing.
Are You a Wall Flower?
In high school, there were always a few of those nervous kids who stood against the wall sipping their punch at school dances, never quite working up the guts to ask someone to dance. Wall flowers were never successful at school dances, and neither are Facebook wall flowers.
In other words, don’t wait for Fans and Friends to come to you; get out there and meet people.
Build Relationships. Be an Active Participant.
Facebook and other social media sites are all about relationships.
We become regular customers at businesses that we know, trust, and like. Facebook’s magic is that it allows you to build relationships with huge numbers of people, increasing the pool of people who know, like, and trust you.
You can jump-start your Facebook social marketing by inviting Fans or Friends who might be interested in the products or services that you offer.
How do you find these people? It’s quite simple.
Run a search in Facebook for people in your area who might be interested in what you do. For example, perhaps you own a vegetarian restaurant in Toronto. You can search “vegetarian Toronto” and Facebook provides you with a list of pages and people who have the words “vegetarian” and “Toronto” somewhere in their profile.
At the time of writing this article, the first result is the Toronto Vegetarian Association, which has 1,698 Fans. That’s 1,698 people you can invite to become your own Friend or Fan!
Facebook frowns on spam, so you should only send about 15 – 20 invitations per day.
Don’t just ask them to join you; you should be joining them, too. A vegetarian restaurant in Toronto, for instance, should definitely be an active participant in the Toronto Vegetarian Association on Facebook.
Once you have spent some time reaching out to people who will be interested in what you offer, make sure you keep up with them when they comment on something you post or ask a question, and don’t shy away from responding to complaints or controversy.
Remember that the more you help others, the more you ultimately will help yourself.
How’s Your Content?
Getting lots of Fans or Friends is a good first step in your marketing campaign, but it isn’t enough to turn Friends into customers.
In order to keep the people who follow you engaged, you need to give them something that will pique their interest.
Consider these statistics provided by Bloomberg.com’s Business Week on October 5, 2010: the average Facebook user has 135 Friends, 107 MySpace friends, and follow 77 people on Twitter – and that’s just the Gen Xers. The younger generation, those in their late teens and twenties, have 220 Facebook Friends, 147 MySpace friends, and follow 86 people on Twitter.
In order to stand out from the crowd, your Facebook page should offer something unique.
Don’t just endlessly promote your business; find a way to promote a sense of community and connection. Offer your Facebook Fans something they can’t find elsewhere, and they’ll start to pay attention to you.
Connect with the Rest of Your Online Presence
Remember that your Facebook page is no silver bullet. It is simply one more marketing avenue. You can increase the effectiveness of your Facebook marketing by integrating it with the rest of your online presence.
Ask yourself these questions about the current state of your Facebook marketing:
- Does your website make it easy to find your Facebook page?
- Does your Facebook page make it easy to find your website? What about your blog?
- Does your email newsletter automatically post to Facebook and/or Twitter? Does your email newsletter include a link to Facebook each week or month?
- If you use video, do you embed videos on your Facebook page? Does your YouTube channel provide a link to Facebook?
The more you weave in your Facebook page with the other elements of your online marketing strategy, the more successful you will be with Facebook and in other online arenas.
In short, whether you rely upon a marketing agency or you do it yourself, your Facebook success depends upon a combination of quantity and quality.
For quantity, you need to make new friends and learn how to keep them by providing regular interaction and prompt responsiveness. As for quality, ensure that your Facebook page offers something that you don’t offer elsewhere. That will keep people actively engaged in your Facebook content.
By following these basic rules, you will greatly increase the success of your social media marketing.
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In short, whether you rely upon a marketing agency or you do it yourself, your Facebook success depends upon a combination of quantity and quality.