Invest Wisely
Page 6
Facebook: a Promotional Budget's Best Friend
By Tamara Monosoff
As a free marketing tool, it could be the
online sales tool you've been looking for.
Already on Facebook? Terrific. Haven't
taken the plunge yet? You probably will.
Long popular with (and once limited to)
college students, this online social networking site is exploding in popularity
among the post-twentysomething set.
While it was originally designed for social
networking, it's become a valuable marketing tool for all types of businesses, organizations and causes; and
it's a tool that can help your own marketing and PR efforts.
If you're new to Facebook, here are some
tips to get you started:
Create your account and profile page
at Facebook.com. It's free. Your profile
page is your launching pad into the world
of Facebook and the means by which you
begin amassing "friends"--that is, your
network. These connections can be your
As a free marketing tool, it
could be the online sales tool
you've been looking for.
actual, everyday friends and family, former classmates and colleagues,
neighbors or fellow soccer moms. You
don't need a large number of friends to
begin seeing the marketing benefits of
Facebook, but you'll see more of an impact as you grow your network. It's easy
to find friends, and they will inevitably find
you once you begin expanding your network.
Create a group for others to join. This
group is a subset of your profile and may
have a more specific aim. For example,
on my Facebook page, I started a group
called Women Entrepreneurs Talk! to
give members a forum to share ideas and
concerns about running a business. You
can post photos and information about
your product or service on your group
page. There are groups on Facebook on
every subject--from TV shows to clothing
brands to restaurants to geographical
regions and everything in between. Your
group becomes an instant Facebook
community for your brand.
Post an event. It's easy to create a
Facebook event to promote among your
network. This event might be an actual local
meeting, conference or get-together. It can
also be a virtual event, such as an online
sale, a contest or the launch of your blog.
Widen your
circle. Creating groups
and events is
an obvious
way to build
your brand,
but there are
other, more
subtle ways
the site can
help your business. Reconnecting with old
friends and colleagues you've lost touch
with can open business-related avenues
you otherwise might never have known
existed. That old high school friend who's
now a web designer or the college friend
you discover is working in your industry
might be able to help you and your business--or you may be able to help her. One
friend of mine, a professional photographer,
began getting inquiries from people she'd
reconnected with through the family photos
she posted on her Facebook page. It was
all organic; she never marketed herself
proactively.
Create another avenue. Your Facebook
profile page can also be a conduit to your
existing website or blog, generating more
traffic and customers. Be sure to include the
URLs on your profile and group pages.
Join other groups and causes. Along the
way, you will be asked to join groups or
causes by people in your growing friend
network. Remember that what comes
around goes around, and that it's great to
join groups or causes you feel strongly
about. For example, if you're launching a
children's product, you may wish to join
mom groups. You can wait for and respond
to group invitations or actively seek them
out using the search feature.
Use the marketplace to sell or buy items-free. You can also post job listings for potential employees or interns.
Buy advertising. Facebook will give you
the tools to create your ad, which can then
be targeted to Facebook subscribers of a
specific age group, gender and location.
You can use pay per plick (PPC) or cost per
thousand impressions (CPM--"M" is the
roman numeral for 1,000).
Use LendingClub to help finance your
startup or expansion.
The key to making the most of Facebook
is to keep your page and profile current;
respond to messages in a timely manner;
and regularly post status updates, photos
or comments to keep yourself top-of-mind
in your network. The more energy you
put into building and connecting with your
network, the more you'll get out of it. Get
creative--it's a relatively new and unexplored terrain for marketing.
Tamara Monosoff is the founder and CEO of
mominventors.com, where entrepreneurs get
information and inspiration to turn their ideas
into successful businesses. Tamara is the
author of The Mom Inventors Handbook and
Secrets of Millionaire Moms.
Source http://
www.womenentrepreneur.com/2009/02/
facebook-a-promotional-budgets-bestfriend.html