Not too long ago it was commonly believed that Facebook was for kids. I believed it. You believed. We all did. Times have changed, and they have changed quickly.
Consider the following:
Between September 2008 and February 2009, the number of Facebook users between the ages of 35 and 44 increased by 51%. Facebook users in the 45-54 age range grew by 47%. More than half of the 140 million Facebook users are out of college, and it’s growing everyday.
In today’s troubling economic climate, business owners are looking for new, inexpensive methods of tapping into their market. More and more businesses are turning to social media services like Facebook.
Facebook allows you to create a page profiling your business. What is great about these pages is that they are free to setup. Giving your business an identity on Facebook helps to strengthen your brand.
A page can grow exponentially. Whenever someone becomes a “fan” of your page, all of their friends see on their status update that they became a fan. Many will also become fans. Then their friends will see the same thing.
You can think of your Facebook page as a living, growing advertisement. It’s like having an ad in the YellowBook that you can change and update as often as you like. Let your customers know about your latest products or services. Keep them up to date on new promotions or sales. You can even update them about staff changes in your office.
Your Facebook page will also allow you to post pictures and videos. Use it to showoff pictures of your most recent satisfied customers. Shoot a quick video to tell your customers about why they should choose you over your competitors and have it live on your page in minutes. You can also post videos of testimonials from past customers right on your page.
The options are really endless, but here are a few ways we have seen local businesses utilizing Facebook.
Real Estate Agents
Post your latest listings long before they’ll ever hit the newspaper.
Shoot a video walk thru of a house and put it on Facebook.
Schedule events on your Facebook page of open houses and invite all your followers to it.
Restaurants / Bars
Inform your fans about your weekend specials.
Introduce new entrée’s or drinks to your customers by posting them on Facebook. Create some buzz to drive traffic into your establishment.
Post your live entertainment schedule on the page.
CPA’s
Keep your clients up to date on important changes in the tax laws.
Remind customers about upcoming important dates.
Auto Sales
Post pictures or even videos of the latest cars to hit your lot.
Update potential buyers on your latest sale or promotion.
Video testimonials of past customers.
Artists
Post pictures of your latest work.
Schedule Facebook events to invite followers to your next show.
These are just a few of the ways we have seen different businesses maximizing the potential of Facebook. It can really be used by any type of business, big or small. If you have questions about how you can best use Facebook for your business, please contact us.
I found you on Lynn’s forum. These are very interesting Facebook Marketing Tips. As business owners, we need to post the FB Fans Widget on the front page. Otherwise, our prospects or customers don’t know about that. Another way to promote the Fans page is to send emails to the client email alias – Email Marketing.
I totally agree. We can use also other medias in our business. Try everything that can be be made as social media page for your business. There’s no harm trying them. We could not tell the future, might be your the next Bill Gates.