Facebook Business Page, Not Your Facebook Profile - Every Time

By Katherine Hanson

Business No-Brainers: Why You Should Use A Facebook Business Page Not Your Facebook Profile!
I was compelled to write this three-part article after meeting so many business owners who have not yet realised the benefits of a Business Page for their brand, products or services and are, in my opinion, really missing a trick. And then there are those who either misunderstand the separate entity concept of a Facebook Business Page or mistakenly think that it gives people a portal to their private lives online. I have even met business owners who to my dismay have set up multiple Facebook accounts with separate log-ins - so much unnecessary work for them.
1. Personal vs. Private
A Facebook Profile and Business Page are (nearly) mutually exclusive and lead very separate lives providing you always remember to post updates as your Page. Whilst there is a limit to what is 'public' on your Facebook Profile unless somebody is friends with you, if you are still concerned about the distinction, it doesn't do any harm to lock down the settings even further if you wish to - Facebook gives you the flexibility and control to do this.
On the flip side, putting yourself in the shoes of your family and friends, they probably don't want to see an update on your business every time they log in to Facebook same as you wouldn't want to read about a friend's job every time you did. Of course, if they have chosen to Like your Business Page then it's a different story but keeping the two separate in the first place gives everybody the option and upholds an individual's preferences.
Thereafter you have one universal log-in and there is no limit to the number of Pages you can create and administer.
2. It's Not About You!
There is nothing more frustrating than clicking on a Facebook icon on a website for it to then take you to somebody's Facebook Profile. This looks amateurish and as if you don't have a handle on how to use Facebook for business. I have lost count of the number of times this has happened to me and when it does, rather than taking the time to find out if there is in fact a separate Page, I simply turn off and close the webpage.
I am not personally in the habit of sending friend requests to people I don't know, but say in this instance I did? So, I've landed on a Facebook Profile by clicking on the Facebook follow button on a website and sent a friend request. This has now been accepted. BUT I still don't receive business updates, but rather the photos, comments, friend updates, etc. of not only the person in question but their friends as well who I equally don't know from Adam. Have I made my point?
3. Brand Newsfeed
A Page Newsfeed or Timeline is the equivalent of your Email Marketing on Facebook and underpins your success in reaching and engaging with people. Think of it as a person's inbox to which you deliver your entire Business Page related news, i.e. a Newsletter to which Fans have subscribed to. With the added bonus of a far lower unsubscribe rate, no reliance on subscribers forwarding it to their friends (albeit with an incentive for doing so built in), it is far less time-consuming to keep up to date and a sentence or two is all it takes for you to potentially obtain new Fans and increased exposure.
But let's also not forget the reverse, because what you read from others in your own Page Newsfeed will not only provide a wealth of inspiration and material for your own content ideas but also provide further opportunities for you to comment on the posts of others and be seen by their Fan/Friends.
The bottom line is that without your Page Newsfeed, you wouldn't be seen or noticed on Facebook - it really does embody the Domino Effect!
In essence, your Page Newsfeed equals increased exposure for your business/brand, invaluable insights into what you are saying most resonates with people but also provides ample opportunities for conversations with new audiences.
Just make sure that you are using Facebook as your Business Page in order to comment/post on the Business Pages of others.
4. Tagging & Commenting As Your Page
Isn't it great when your friends and family Tag you in photos you didn't know you were in or at a location you were both at? All well and good but imagine if your Facebook Business Page name could only be Tagged or commented on by them - it would be a very limited audience, right?
Well it's a good job that this isn't the case - another highly advantageous feature of Pages is that in addition to those who Like your Page, any Business Page owner can Tag/comment on your Business Page which opens it right out to a viral audience. And of course, each time they do this, you are maximising the number of Newsfeeds your Business Page name appears in and ultimately not how many Fans see it but also their own Fans too which offers rich pickings in terms of engagement and new fans.
5. The Sky's The Limit!
Did you know that a Facebook Profile is limited to 5,000 friends? Not that I know anybody with that number and if I did, I'm pretty sure they'd be too thinly spread to ever spend any time with yours truly!
A Facebook Business Page is a different story with no limit to the number of Likes it can receive. Whilst 5,000 friends on a Facebook Profile might be met with scorns of derision about its authenticity, if you've got 5,000 or more Likes on your Business Page you're going to be held in pretty high regard. But why stop there?!
6. Google Search Results
Whilst it is key that your online activity focuses on driving traffic back to your website, Social Media is the lifeblood of your overall online presence. Facebook Pages are indexed by Google which means that they are optimised for search engines. So the more active you are the more visible your business will be in a search resulting in an increased online presence and active and prolific impression on Social Media.
7. And The Winner Is...
Who doesn't love a freebie?! Contests/Competitions are a great way to build engagement with your followers/Fans and also incentivise other people to Like your Business Page and share your content, making them an instant ambassador for your Brand or business.
They are, in my humble opinion, one of the most fun and creative Facebook Business Page features and something else that a Facebook Profile cannot offer. The main reason for this is that they are generally only available via Apps or Advertising which Profiles do not offer the software for and, in the case of Apps, generally only installable to Facebook Tabs (see 12.), another exclusive Business Page feature.
Contests are a really effective way of incentivising people to share your Business Page or content and grow your Likes. Enough said?
8. Featured Likes
This enables you to showcase the pages of other brands/businesses that you Like - providing not only an insight into your brand/business and its interests but also to showcase the Pages of those businesses you have Liked which should also encourage reciprocity by those businesses.
Simply clicking on the 'Like Pages' link on the left-hand side of your screen allows you to choose from a list of Pages under various categories, including Brands & Products and Companies & Organisations. Of course, businesses similar to you or those whom you have an affiliation or association with, such as complementary services, trusted suppliers and so on, are always going to have maximum impact.
9. Business Page Owners
As with the content management system of a website, an Administrator of a Business Page can delegate administration rights to other Facebook account holders with a tier of different permission levels, which as well as allowing you to work smarter and free up your own time to focus on other areas of your business, provides an additional level of security because you don't have to give them the username/password for your own Facebook account.
10. Featured Business Page Owners
You can also make anybody who is already an Administrator of your Business Page a Featured Administrator/Business Page Owner. This will simply associate them with the Business Page by displaying their Facebook Profile Picture in the About section of your Business Page and also state that they are a Business Page Owner on their Facebook Profile. For my own business, the benefit of this is to allow people to see who the people in the business are, in the same way as the About Business Page of a website does.
11. Business Showcase
A Facebook Business Page allows you to display such information as your business's opening times, location map, telephone number, email address(es) and website address(es), etc. without compromising any of your personal contact details, such as a mobile number, Gmail address, etc.
In the website section you can also add up to three addresses of your choosing in addition to your business site - some suggestions are a link to your Twitter profile, LinkedIn Profile/Company Business Page, Google+ Page, Blog address, etc.
You can further showcase your business by providing a Company Overview, Description, Mission, Founded, Awards, Products (a call to action with a website link is recommended here), etc.
12. Tabs & Apps
Newsletter sign up, Twitter feed, e-Shop, website link or iFrame - these are just a few examples of how you can utilise your Business Page Tabs through the use of Third Party Apps, another feature exclusive to Facebook Pages. Not only that, but the majority of these Apps are completely FREE to download and use and, in many instances, customisable to your own business' needs. You can even set up an Amazon or eBay!
One of the many advantages of these Tabs is that followers can sign up to your Newsletter, view your Twitter feed, purchase your products/services, etc. without ever leaving Facebook. And, since Facebook's M.O is naturally to encourage traffic to stay within its own walls, you're in good hands. I have chosen to utilise one of these Tabs for my Blog (in addition to the website area where it can also be displayed).
13. Advertising & Promotions
Okay, so they're not free but Facebook Adverts still wipe the floor with many other (free) and organic techniques for growing your fan base. I'm not saying other methods aren't as powerful, far from it, but there's a reason you pay for Adverts - they REALLY WORK!
Facebook Adverts appear in a sidebar on the right-hand side of your Timeline (Newsfeed) right before your status bar of friends who are/aren't online. Whilst an Advert can only be set up by a Page, the beauty of them is that their audience is not restricted to Page fans; they can be used to target your friends too.
Whilst Facebook Adverts are a paid entity and can prove expense if not managed properly, you can control your spend with a budget, start and end date and maximum price per click (if you are going down that route), etc. Facebook offers you the choice of several tiers of advertising to suit your budget and objectives. You can also manage the Adverts from your Pages' Admin Panel to track their effectiveness in the same way as Facebook Insights (see 19.).
Promotions are also a paid entity but work slightly differently to Facebook Adverts in that they appear within your Page Newsfeed so appear more natural and less aggressive or targeted. And, whilst most of us know that by clicking on an advert the person who posted it is paying, this isn't so obvious or widely known with Promotions.
14. I'm just Checking in!
The Check-In Tool is another fantastic feature you can utilise to encourage people to engage and interact. It's also an easy way to provide the social proof that your Business Page is resonating with people and useful to them. In other words, those people who have Liked your Business Page have effectively endorsed your business to their friends. And this kind of social proof is an integral driver of a consumer's buying decisions.
Of course, this does rely on you having a physical location so if you are a work from home digital marketer it may not be the most useful feature but still worth knowing about and something else that is not available on a Facebook Profile!
15. Notes
This vastly under- utilised and valued yet fully interactive Facebook Tool can be used almost like a Blog and as another platform through which to further expand on your Products, Services or Brand. Notes are similar to Blog posts in that you can add or edit content and also avoid the 420 character restriction of a status update.
Fans can even Like and comment on your Notes and equally any Notes within which your Business Page has been tagged or commented on is accessible by you. They can even interact with other Fans about your Business Page which not only increases your Page's exposure but also provides you with the opportunity to increase traffic to your Blog and your industry authority and credibility.
You can add comments, photos and images, tag other Fanpages, and even format the style and layout of Notes, i.e. use bold, italics, or underline, numbering, bullet points and quote blocks.
Why are they important? Well, Google will index your Notes if you have properly optimised them and increase the probability of them appearing in a Google search, which of course means an additional stream of traffic for your Business or Brand.
Several years ago you could also use the Notes feature as a bonafide blogging platform but this seems to have been buried by the updated Newsfeed. There are rumours however that Facebook will revive the blogging functionality of Notes so watch this space for developments!
Do you use the Facebook Notes tool - if so, what for?
16. Import Contacts/Invitations
As long as you are using Facebook as your Page, you can invite a whole host of people to Like it and increase your number of Fans exponentially. This is absolutely my recommended port of call when you first set up a Business Page because they are already your captive audience and therefore incredibly influential in growing your Likes through their own Newsfeed. As I said in point 14., the people who have Liked your Business Page have effectively endorsed your business to their friends. And this kind of social proof is an integral driver of a consumer's buying decisions and which also helps non-profits to garner support. After all, word of mouth is the oldest form of marketing in the world but arguably still the most powerful, right?
There is nothing wrong with periodically re-inviting contacts to Like your Page and your lists will no doubt have grown since you last did this anyway. Facebook does also allow you to select which people you would like to invite to Like your Page so you can make it more targeted if you so wish.
17. Link Your Business Page To Twitter
If you sync your Facebook Page with your Twitter account, whenever you create a post in Facebook, both Social Media channels will be updated simultaneously. Not only is this a quick win but you are working smarter as you don't have to update both channels with the same content. Be mindful however if you use the HootSuite Social Media Dashboard that you don't post to both Social Media channels otherwise even the most diehard Fans will quickly turn off if they are seeing double every time!
18. Unique Username
A unique username or Vanity URL, such as Facebook.com/example will also assist with your search ranking and make your company name synonymous with Facebook, especially valuable if this is also your brand/product/service.
Much as you would add your current job to your Facebook Profile if you were an employee, you also have the facility to add your Business Name to your Profile with a link to your Business Page (please note that this will not link your Facebook Profile and Page, merely show where you work).
19. Analyse Your Page's Activity
Once you have 30 Likes, you will be able to view Facebook Insights, which provide in-depth analysis on every one of your Business Page posts to see how many people your post reached how many engaged with it and how many talked about it with their Friends. You can also compare your different posts by showing the percentage of people who talked about your post to their Friends after seeing it. You can also export a report of your Facebook Insights to a spreadsheet and email it.
As defined by Facebook, "Insights provides Facebook Business Page owners... with metrics around their content. By understanding and analysing trends within user growth and demographics, consumption of content, and creation of content, Business Page owners... are better equipped to improve their business with Facebook."
Ultimately, Facebook Insights provide a platform for something you should really be checking anyway - what content is resonating the most with people, be it particular status updates you post, links to Blog Posts or your latest Newsletter or something else so that you can tailor your messaging for maximum impact.
Are you in the Facebook Profile or Facebook Business Page camp? What other advantages or disadvantages have you encountered with both? I'd love to hear your experiences!

The Power of Facebook Advertising

By Matteo Grasso

Social media was once considered to be only for teenagers or for those looking for romance and relationships but that has changed dramatically in recent years. Facebook has evolved as one of the most valuable assets to advertisers who are striving to reach a particular niche audience.

Facebook is the largest and most visited social network on the web today is.

Not only is it a popular location for social interactions but also it is becoming a fiercely competitive marketing tool. Many entrepreneurs are beginning to tap into this advantageous method of generating leads and sales for their businesses. Research is showing that the average Facebook user spends just over 6 hours a month on Facebook which is double the amount of time of its closest competitor, Google. Over 50% of these users are perusing Facebook from a mobile device which means that there are more than 543 mobile users searching for goods and services while on-the-go. Every day there are more than 3.2 billion items that are liked or commented about on Facebook pages and that translates into a very powerful mode of advertising for any business.

Advertising campaigns on Facebook are providing up to a 5 fold return on any investment because of the strategic targeting of the right audience. Consumers are becoming more aware of brands and are recalling what they are seeing more than other online advertising averages. Facebook advertising is the catalyst for more positive conversations about businesses as well. More importantly, the 47% trust rate for advertising on Facebook commands a respect and awareness of this tool that can effectively be used to expand the bottom line.

When considering the most efficient way to invest advertising dollars, you should include Facebook advertising in your plan. You can connect to this exploding power to target new business, to generate high quality leads, and to piggyback additional advertising strategies, like word-of-mouth advertising, to more effectively stretch your advertising monies. An entirely new world of possibilities will be opened up to you with Facebook advertising.

Facebook advertisers are permitted to geo-target an audience by country which allows the advertiser the ability to limit or expand the message of their ad based on settings that are selected. Most of the countries in the world are now Facebook friendly which expands boundaries that once limited the sale of products to smaller areas and locations.

One of the features of advertising with Facebook is the advantage of keyword interest targeting. When a user signs up for Facebook, they create a profile page that is based on their interests, likes, and activities. When you create your ad for Facebook, you have the option of searching and selecting keywords that are of interest to a specific user. This will better target an audience that is already interested in your ad before they even see it. As an example, let's say that you as an advertiser are trying to reach people who are doing home remodeling projects. When you type in the word home remodeling, a list of keywords will be pulled up for you that are related to the profiles of users who listed home remodeling as one of their interests. You can then choose any of these keywords in your ad to reach those people who have these keywords in their profiles. You are targeting an audience who is interested in your information and who will respond to your ad.

Before you begin your advertising campaign, it's important to clearly know who you want to target. Customize your Facebook advertising to the target market so that this tool work better for you and your company. Try to vary your approach so you can attract different groups. 20 year olds will view your ad differently than a 40 years old will even if they have the same need for your product. Appeal to your potential client in a positive and attention-getting way. Be clear, concise, and brief.

There are several ways to advertise on Facebook; you can use these cost-effective ways to increase the traffic to your website and generate more business and profits for you. The first way to advertise on Facebook is to create a business profile so you can interact with your list of "fans" whom you will persuade to become clients. You can send out updates, news articles, special offers and promotions, and discount information to the entire list; Facebook affords you the ability to communicate instantly with a list of people who have already indicated that they are interested in your products.

Another way that you can advertise powerfully on Facebook is to buy an ad that is targeted toward a segment of the user base. Each one of these users has an enormous amount of information stored in their profiles. This information can be used to target them based on a selected keyword or filter. Using this method will assure you of reaching potential customers who are most likely to buy your product.

Word-of-mouth advertising has been brought into the digital age with Facebook's beacon tool. News feeds let users access each other's personal profiles and postings or comments. Facebook allows businesses the ability to report a user's actions with the business website and company to the user's friends. If a Facebook customer buys a product from you or engages in discussion regarding their satisfaction with your company, their interaction with you will be posted in the news feed which will automatically create a referral system for your business. It's word-of-mouth in cyberspace.

The first thing to consider as you plan your Facebook ad strategy is your goal. Are you going to advertise your product, expand the number of people who like your business page, inform the Facebook community of your business and what you do, or are you simply getting the attention of potential customers. As your goals become clearer, begin to decide on the type of ad you will create; there are three types from which you can choose.

Crafted ads target Facebook users by filtering demographic information such as age, location, and gender. These ads will be featured in the right hand column of Facebook pages. You can create sponsored stories which interact with a Facebook fan's page with the specific story. The ad will show up in the right hand column once the fan likes your particular post. You can also select promoted posts which are more visible in the posts on friends' pages and on their contacts' pages as well. One of the most powerful aspects of Facebook advertising is the customer loyalty that you will build. Create your own business Facebook page that will allow you to directly interact with your clients. This will give a more personal touch to your business and also will allow you to use word-of-mouth advertising that you generate from your Facebook ads to spread the word in a cost-effective way. Client satisfaction, customer service, and buyer protection are all tenets of a marketing strategy that will work nicely for you and your Facebook advertising campaign.

You can offer special promotions, new products, or the latest trends with your product with your Facebook ads to reach clients that are strategically targeted and already interested in your product or service. This will provide up-dated information to your clients and keep them better informed in a time-efficient way. Today's consumers on are the go with busy schedules and demanding deadlines. These ads will connect with them and solve their issues and concerns in a timely fashion.

Facebook ads are much more flexible than other internet locations. You will be offered additional character length for any ad descriptions that you might have. You can also improve your flexibility with image-based ads that attract the visual buyer. If someone participates in the Facebook community, then they are already proven to be a visually stimulated consumer. Use images and photos of high quality and that convey your message with the power of a thousand words. Your Facebook ads will be more visible to an audience who is there to engage in obtaining information as well as to create it themselves.

With the Facebook site itself generating such a high rate of traffic on a daily basis, your ad has a much better chance of being seen and having a positive effect. It will be seen a multitude of times by a targeted audience who is already comfortable shopping the online arena. Users visit the site many, many times a day and your ad will be there to greet them as they login and begin to participate.

You are also allowed with your Facebook ad to purchase space on a click-based or impression-based fee structure. Using your budget and personal preferences, you can tailor your ad campaign to meet the needs and goals of your business plan.

Because of the targeted nature of Facebook, advertising on Facebook can be affordable for you company. You can reach your targeted audience with your online campaign for a very reasonable price. The selection of packages that you can select is extensive so that you can reach as many users as your budget will allow you to.

The use of smart-phones has skyrocketed in recent years and your ability to reach this high volume of consumers is phenomenal. Access to these devices happens every second of every day and you can tap into this gold mine of prospects. Your ads won't just be limited to laptop and computer users; you will be expanding your potential client base.

You will be offered a choice between pay-per-click (CPC) or per 1,000 impressions (CPM). Studying your demographic clicks and responses will be an important first step. Begin by starting a campaign that includes everyone and then, after a set number of impressions, see who clicked on your ad and the responses that you received. After some study and careful insights, you can then rewrite the ad to appeal with that demographic audience in mind. You can then reset your campaign as a CPC method. Finely segment your ad to appeal to different age groups, or sexes, or relationship statuses. With this small touch, you will get more bang for your advertising buck. Continually test and modify your presentation to foster higher results with substantially lower costs.

With Facebook targeting, the natural skew is toward a younger than average audience that is female. Sometimes users mislead others by submitting incorrect data on profile pages. This will cause misrepresentation of data and some of your ads will be seen by users who are not interested by their very nature; you can only get a rough estimate of the people who might see your ad. When initially targeting your ad to an audience, you might begin with 10,000 people; 50% of them will log into Facebook and see your ad. By choosing this number, you will keep your costs under control and more efficiently modify it before you launch the ad to a larger audience. Carefully select connections of people you know who trust you and your business. This will give you a base circle of community with which to begin your advertising campaigns.

Another important thing to consider when you are creating your advertising strategy is to include additional languages other than English. Inexpensive translators can be hired on some of the work at home web locations to translate your copy for you. Many advertisers neglect this segment of the population and lose many dollars in profit for this lack of attention to detail. You can open up a new section of loyal clients with just a simple effort of reaching them in a language in which they feel comfortable purchasing.

Another powerful tenet of advertising on Facebook is the low risk involved in using this format. You will have full control of your advertising budget and it will be a good testing ground for your ad. You can learn if your message is effective in communicating to a potential buyer who you are, what you are offering, and how they can purchase your product quickly and safely. You are free to modify your message as needed and promote it to a better target. You can ascertain what works best with a particular demographic and how to reach them with your message. Especially if you have a fledgling business, you might want to use the high power, lost cost approach of a Facebook ad.

If you are striving to target your local audience, Facebook ads have been proved to be very effective. You can inform local and regional clients about your business and have the "friend" network assist you as well. Many local communities enjoy supporting local businesses that give back to civic groups and Facebook can get your ads to them quickly and efficiently. When you have a happy, satisfied customer, they can tell the seven people in their social circle and those seven people will tell seven of their closest friends and so the network will distribute the message about you and your product. Testimonials serve to peak the interest of clients ready to buy but who have just one more question. If someone has purchased your product already, they can attest to its quality and your excellent customer service. Facebook is being used in your area by all of the local people who are just waiting to be approached by your ad. The appeal of Facebook extends to everyday people; you don't have to be a computer genius to take advantage of this advertising power.

By promoting your Facebook business page through the ads you place on Facebook, you are guaranteed that the people you are targeting with your ads already have a Facebook account. You can be assured your ads are reaching the audiences most likely to buy from you and the communication vehicle is at your disposal 24/7.

One of the most powerful reasons of advertising on Facebook is the budget management that is available to you. Thousands of dollars of advertising fees are not required upfront. So, you don't have to have capital outlay at the onset of your advertising campaign. Your budget can be as low as $1 per day if that is the option that you choose to employ. Budgets can be changed daily or at any time and by any amount that you wish. The measure performance tools available on Facebook advertising allow you to see and test ad rotations and explore which are the most effective tools for you. After you run your first ad, try changing a combination of the ad's image, description, and title. You will measure the performance rate of your campaigns by viewing the click-through rate which is the percentage of clicks from the number of times it was viewed on Facebook. You will select the ad which shows the highest click-through rate for you.

In a world of social media, advertising can be an excellent way to reach customers. The users of Facebook are very active; they log on daily sometimes multiple times. It provides a way for you to reach customers with whom you might not have otherwise connected. They are going to find your ad on a social media sight more rapidly than they would your own blog or website.

The exposure you receive is a very lucrative benefit to advertising on Facebook. The more customers who are exposed to your product, the higher your profits can become. Facebook does an excellent job of allowing all advertisers a multitude of targeting options that include age, gender, interests, and relationship status. These targeting filters will strategically develop an audience who is primed and ready to buy. This is possibly the most beneficial tool of Facebook advertising.

In addition to an effective list of potential clients, you will have all of the benefits of instant results. In our fast-paced society of today, speed in purchasing is important. A client will spend approximately 90 seconds looking at your ad before moving on to something else. Quality images and representations of your product along with concise and clear descriptions are dynamic tools to capture the attention of the audience and cause the perusing to develop into purchasing. You can attract many new customers in a single day and the profits can rise along with those viewing your ads.

Before you even begin your advertising campaign, you must set your budget and stick to it. There are expensive options for you with Facebook advertising but you will have to operate within your budget to obtain the success you are seeking. Use a common sense approach with your newly acquired technological advertising to promote your company and profits.

In addition, a Facebook ad will provide you with a more personal platform of advertising. Research shows that consumers are more likely to trust your ad especially if they see a link to a Facebook friend. Your ad is placed in the right hand column and is a bit more engaging than an ad they see randomly on a search engine. Even in the world of internet marketing the handshake and confidence in a deal is important to make. By personalizing your Facebook ad, it's like extending your hand across cyberspace to reach out and seal the deal. This type of business advertisement will foster good business relationships that ensure repeat business.

In effective advertising, everything is a balance. You don't want to spend a lot of time reworking your ads if they aren't accurately targeting the audience you need to be targeting. Spend time tracking your progress and your effectiveness but don't forget to interact and connect with potential and current clients. Follow through with all of your strategies and the components of your plan to generate new customers and increase your profits. A Facebook ad campaign will be an effort that takes time and patience. Keep in mind that Facebook advertising is about developing relationships and connecting with consumers not just selling them a product immediately. This platform of marketing is still developing and using these advertisements effectively will take research, study, and modifications that better hone your ad for consumers to view.

Facebook has become a powerful tool in the advertising world. The expanse of active users coupled with the micro-targeting tools make this method of telling others about your product one that will reap dramatic rewards for your bottom line. You will boost sales and maximize profits at a cost-efficient way for your business. Your business will be given the opportunity to build, improve, and maintain client relationships which is a satisfying aspect of having your own business.

The clients with whom you connect will provide you with feedback, encouragement, and testimonials that can help you reach your goals and dreams as a successful entrepreneur. By using the proper demographic, copy, and image, you will see your Facebook ad come to life. Don't be afraid to try this new and unique method of advertising. It's a fun and interesting way to reach an enormous audience with a few simple guidelines that anyone can perform.

Monetizing Facebook Through Contests

By Kevin P Coombe

Nowadays, thousands of online entrepreneurs, small businesses, and large companies are monetizing Facebook through contests. It is not uncommon to see businesses pushing products, services, or causes through contests hosted in the social networking site. If you own digital space of any kind, you should be doing the same. The power of Facebook as a marketing tool is undeniable. Facebook is after all the biggest social media site out there. Its members are close to approaching the one billion mark. If this doesn't make you rush out and use Facebook like crazy, nothing will. The great thing about the social network is that you don't have to be an online entrepreneur to be able to make use of it. Even if your business only operates offline, you can still make a huge online presence for it on Facebook.
Holding a Facebook contest is nothing new. Ever since the site's beginnings, people have been using it to conduct contests. Now that the site has grown into a whole new level, it's not surprising to see hundreds of contests being held on it in a daily basis. Marketers have seen the potential of Facebook contests and they are taking full advantage of it. You should be doing it as well if you want to leverage Facebook's huge traffic and member levels. Of course, the process is not as simple as offering prizes and stuff. You have to plan everything just like any marketing campaign. You can't just go in there without any directions or goals. If you do, you will likely fail.
Everybody knows that besides Facebook's advertising program, everything on the site is free to use. You don't have to pay a cent to make use of the services, resources and tools that it offers. Speaking of tools, there's one tool that is particularly helpful in holding Facebook contests and that would be the Facebook Connect feature. If you want to try monetizing Facebook through contests then Facebook Connect is something you should look into. This is going to make the whole contest process easier to conduct and of course simpler to track and measure. Facebook Connect was specifically made to help outside parties like you to get a better experience on the social network. With regards to contests, Facebook Connect will amplify the results of your contest campaign.
But first of all, what exactly is Facebook Connect and why does it matter in hosting Facebook contests? In the simplest of terms, it is but a feature of Facebook that allows users to share their information and activities with third party websites and applications. You are basically connecting your Facebook account with third party websites. That is of course if you allow them to. Looking at this scenario on a marketing perspective, this is a huge opportunity for entrepreneurs, marketers, and businesses to get connected with customers, readers, clients, fans, etc. It is therefore not surprising to see many websites holding Facebook contests by leveraging the Facebook Connect feature. You will simply double or even triple the number of people you can reach if you use Facebook Connect on a contest.
Here's what happens if you host a contest on Facebook and then make use of Facebook Connect. Let's say you create a web application specifically for the contest you have in mind. In order for people to join in on the contest, they have to have a Facebook profile and they have to connect it to the web application you created via Facebook Connect. To use the web application, they will log in using the Facebook login details because this is the whole point behind Facebook Connect. You simply use your Facebook login details to sign in into third party websites and applications.
Now, whenever these people interact with your application, these interactions will be shown in their Facebook walls. They will show up in the feeds of other users who are friends with the people who joined your contest. In essence, people who join your contests will be promoting your contest for free. More people will be directed to your Facebook contest. There's a snowball effect. This is where the magic happens. If your Facebook contest is interesting enough, it could go viral. If the contest is geared towards promoting a product or service of yours, expect a spike in your sales. That's how powerful Facebook contests can be.
One obvious drawback of using Facebook Connect on a contest is the fact that people nowadays are more aware about security issues. They won't just give up their Facebook login details. Although Facebook Connect is pretty secure, you cannot discount the fact that people sometimes get freaked out when asked to connect their Facebook profiles to websites external of the Facebook banner. However, if the offers or prizes in your contest are hard to refuse, Facebook users have proven time and time again that they take risks when confronted with great free offers. With that said, if you play your cards well, people will be more than willing to connect their Facebook accounts to your website or application.
Now, let's go to the monetization part. The goal is monetizing Facebook through contests right? That basically translates to making money off Facebook. Most businesses use Facebook contests for marketing purposes like branding, introducing a new product or service, etc. You can also use the contests to make money right off the bat. The goal is to drive as many people as possible to your website or web application through the Facebook Connect feature then introduce them to your offers and services. It's as simple as that. In other words, the contest is merely a bait. This may sound a bit unethical but most of the time this is what Facebook contests are all about - just a small part in a huge marketing puzzle. It's a very effective marketing strategy as long as you have high quality products and services that will draw customers towards you.
Here are a few tips on how to effectively conduct a contest using Facebook Connect:

1. Offer great prizes. Give people reasons why they should connect their Facebook account to your website or application. If you are offering prizes of $5, why would anyone even bother connecting to you? So offer prizes that will blow people away that they will have no choice but to join.


2. Create a Facebook Page specifically for your contest. Keep in mind that a Facebook Page is different from a Facebook Profile or a Facebook Group Page. A Page differs because it can be viewed by anyone on the web whether he/she is logged into Facebook or not. This makes it a very great tool in promoting your contest.


3. Encourage those who joined your contest to share the contest with their Facebook friends. This will ensure that your contest is exposed to as many people as possible. Imagine someone sharing your contest to a thousand of his friends then these thousand friends do the same. The numbers can easily grow as people start sharing your contest.

These are everything you need to know about monetizing Facebook through contests. Keep them in mind and most importantly, follow them. A Facebook contest isn't too hard to pull off. If you have great offers, Facebook users will do all the marketing for you. For instance, if you're going to offer a free iPad, thousands of people will likely share your contest right after you announce it.

Kevin Coombe is the Owner of Market Web Group, LLC an online media consultant firm. He founded Market Web Group, LLC in 2009. The mission of Market Web Group is to generate a consistent stream of qualified leads for Businesses.

Market Web Group does Real Time Marketing for Businesses, both Business to Business (B2B) and Business to Consumer (B2C). Strategies include: Video Marketing, SEO, SEM, PPC, Local Search (Google Maps), Social Media Marketing, Mobile Marketing, and most importantly (Automated Follow-up).

Facebook Fan Pages - Key to Social Media Marketing

By Tink Boord-Dill

The phrase "Social Media" is everywhere these days, and if you are like me, you may be a bit unclear about what it actually is... the infamous phrase "I'll know it when I see it" comes immediately to my mind!

I went looking online for a short, easy to understand definition and found this analogy:

Think of regular media as a one-way street where you can read a newspaper or listen to a report on television, however, you have very a limited ability to share your thoughts on the matter.

Social media, on the other hand, is an active two-way street that gives you the ability to communicate and respond.

As the internet develops and evolves, the various Social Media websites are also growing and changing. Several years ago, MySpace was the place to be but it is now, generally, considered to be on the wane. Likewise, on MySpace, 33% of its users are aged 17 or less.

Ravalry is a relatively new, large community based around knitting with over 1,200,000 registered users. As you would expect, its membership is primarily female and the average member age is not available.

Facebook provides this information about its users:

• More than 500 million active users (I recently saw the number 600 million, but it hasn't been changed yet, on the Facebook site)
• 50% of our active users log on to Facebook in any given day
• Average user has 130 friends
• People spend over 700 billion minutes per month on Facebook

As you can see, each Social Media site appeals to and has a different user base than any other site.

One of the powerful considerations about using a Social Media web site is the fact that most of them provide a level playing field when it comes to small business owners vs the big boys. For instance, you can build a Facebook Fan page for your offline business and so can a major automobile manufacturer. Within those Facebook Fan pages, both you and the multi billion dollar car maker have the same tools and resources. On Twitter, as another example, both you and the big companies are limited to 140 characters per tweet. They can't buy more characters and blast you out of the competition.

When considering which Social Media site to use with Social Media Marketing, you should consider the site's membership but you should also evaluate its culture and how the members interact. It is important that any Social Media site have a population whose interests are in line with your goals and, also, that it have a structure and pattern of interaction that is compatible with your objectives.

In addition, you must keep in mind that things change on the Internet, sometimes at breakneck speed. As an example, between March 2011 and May 2011, Facebook implemented some major changes which changed the whole landscape of using it for business. Suddenly, controlling the content on a business Fan Page and using product images to build a brand became game changers... for those who knew how to do it!

While a particular Social Media site may be a good fit now, be aware that it may not always be a successful marketing vehicle for you! Monitor the efficacy of any Social Media site you are using AND also keep an eye out for the next big thing!

With all of that in mind, at the current time, I consider Facebook and Twitter to be the Social Media sites most likely to be compatible with the majority of offline businesses and their needs.

In this article I am going to briefly cover Facebook, its structure as it pertains to Social Media Marketing, discuss some of the pitfalls, and propose some strategies appropriate to it.

Facebook Marketing for Small Business

Facebook's membership has exploded and is currently greater than 500 million, according to its own website.

It originally began as a way for college students to keep in touch with fellow students. As a result of that, the basic Facebook community seems to start from an academic basis, joining students and former students with friendship circles widening out from there. If you are like me, you will be shocked at how many members from your high school class seem to appear out of nowhere!

As part of the Facebook mechanism, possible Friends are suggested to you, based on Friends that you and the other person have in common. While you can do searches, it is hard to find and befriend a person that Facebook doesn't think you should know. On the other hand, Facebook makes suggestions that will extend your network, based simply on friends you may have in common with someone.

Another important mechanism is the Facebook Like option, which has now been extended beyond Facebook Profile pages and Facebook Fan Pages and out into the web at large.

A third and exceedingly important Facebook mechanism is the ability to link between websites, Facebook Fan Pages, and Twitter accounts. This can be done with a variety of website creation software options. At the moment, I am encouraging my clients to use the blogging software, WordPress, for non blog websites.

With WordPress as your website management system, once you have signed up for the Networked Blogs Facebook App(lication), you can set your website to show any changes on your Facebook Fan Page and your Twitter account. Your Twitter Account can be set to show Facebook Fan Page Comments along with Posts from your WordPress website. In addition, your Tweets will be displayed on your Facebook Fan Page and your website.

Now, I know that the previous paragraph was confusing so let me give you the abridged edition! In my example, you have three web presences for your business - A Facebook Fan Page, a website built with WordPress, and a Twitter account. Any Post made on one of those three sites will automatically appear on the other two sites.

This is VERY powerful and is a REAL time and energy saver IF you take the time to plan your web marketing strategies with this capacity in mind!

With the potential of getting a three to one benefit from any of your Social Networking posts, as described above, let me go a bit deeper into the opportunities afforded to an offline business by having a Facebook Fan Page.

NOTE - It is important to understand that while a Facebook Fan Page can be considered a potential web site substitute, it offers long term hazards that, in my opinion, are not worth the risk.

Building your business's primary web presence on a third party web site is taking the time, effort, and money to build a nice new house on land that you DO NOT OWN! You might be OK in the short term, but later down the road, you may lose you house, simply because you do not own the land.

While you may decide that it is efficient to start with a Facebook Fan Page, you should also plan to build your own website ASAP! As a business owner, you should be careful to own and control as many of your business assets as possible.

With that warning out of the way, before utilizing any Social Media site for your Social Media Marketing, take the time to read the site's ToS or Terms of Service. Do NOT assume that you know what is allowed and what is not.

As an example, you may have multiple Twitter accounts, but each account must be tied to a different email address. Any email address can have only ONE Twitter account.

With Facebook, any human is allowed ONLY ONE ACCOUNT! This means that any Facebook Fan Pages built for any businesses will be offshoots of your primary, personal Facebook account.

If for some reason, you do not want a Facebook Fan Page to be obviously tied to your personal account, you can set the Privacy setting to obscure the connection. In the case of most offline businesses, this would not be a concern. However, I have a number of online businesses, some of which I am open about and others that I have chosen to run from behind the scenes. There is nothing questionable about doing this, I just prefer to keep the connection quiet to minimize others copying my business model. However, ALL of my business Facebook Fan Pages are offshoots of my SINGLE personal Facebook account.

Part of the evolution of the Facebook Culture is that, in most instances, it is considered appropriate to ask other members to share with their Friends about your Facebook Fan Page or your new post or any of a number of other Facebook interactions. This is markedly different from other websites and their culture, and as a business owner, it is a powerful tool.

It is perfectly OK to ask others to LIKE your Facebook Fan Page. In fact, this can be an important traffic builder for your Facebook Fan Page!

Google AdWords vs Facebook Ads

Another online marketing benefit offered by Facebook is the option to use their Pay Per Click advertising. In the Facebook universe these are known as Facebook Ads - which seems obvious, but online, things are not always obvious!

Last night, I was on a call with one of my consulting clients and she mentioned that she had just gotten a $100 voucher for Google AdWords. She wanted to know if this would be worthwhile. I said that I thought that using Facebook, creating a Facebook Fan Page for her business, and spending her limited budget on Facebook ads would be a better use of her resources, even considering her $100 AdWords voucher.

I explained it to her this way:

Google AdWords and Facebooks Ads are Pay Per Click... each ad is shown (this is called an impression) and you pay when someone actually click on the ad.

While the mechanism for figuring ad payments is the same (PPC or Pay Per Click) the basis for showing an ad differs drastically between Google AdWords and Facebook.

On the surface, the ads themselves are similar. While they may or may not have a picture included, the text or content of the ad is short and presented in plain and simple text. Ads are displayed off the side in vertical stacks or within the body of the page's content. For the most part, these ads are subtle and unobtrusive.

However, the Ad Display Criteria is where the biggest differences lie.

In Google, AdWords are shown on the pages generated with Search Results as well as on website pages related to the Ad's specified search term. This means that Google AdWords are displayed using a mechanism of which terms are being used in online searches. As AdWords have developed, in some instances they are also displayed according to the geographical location of the person doing the Search.

Facebook actually takes an entirely different approach - Facebook Ads are displayed in front of PEOPLE who meet the demographic requirements that you have chosen.

To simplify further, Google AdWords are displayed based on the content of the page where they are shown and Facebook Ads are shown based on the interests, and even the physical location, of the person doing the looking!

As you can see, there is a radical difference between Google AdWords and Facebook Ads.

This is one of the reasons that I feel that Facebook Ads may be far more beneficial for offline businesses.

It is also important to note that when creating a Facebook Ad, you have the choice of sending people who click either to an offsite web page or to a specific Facebook Fan Page.

All in all, I consider Facebook a strong option for offline businesses, since you have the ability to target both demographically and geographically. The potentially viral effect that is inherent in the Facebook culture is another good reason for adding Facebook in to your online advertising mix.

How to Use Facebook For Business

By Wayne Kessler

There are a growing number of social media sites being used by businesses in their company marketing efforts. The secret to using social media effectively is not to be everywhere, but instead to have an online presence where your current and prospective customers are online. Contrary to what many believe- Facebook is not just for college students or for personal use. Facebook is increasingly being used by companies in many creative ways such as to build their brand image, to drive traffic to their website and blogs, to announce or get feedback on new products, manage their online reputation, attract employees, communicate company information, and as a means to intercept potential prospects. For many companies, this increased company communication is leading to enhanced relationships with current and prospective customers. In this article, I will outline how a planned internet marketing approach can lead to positive results for your business. I will begin the article by addressing a few common misperceptions about Facebook that I hear most frequently from my clients. Next, I will detail how to use and set up the various sections of a Facebook account. I will conclude with several recommended applications that will add functionality to your company Facebook page.

Common misperception #1: Facebook is only for personal use
Each time I give presentations on using social networking sites for business there is the perception in the audience that Facebook is only useful for communicating with friends and family. Facebook started as a closed community for college students, and has not been as effective as LinkedIn at highlighting the business page and advertising features. However, Facebook continues to grow in use by companies looking to reach the more than 200 million active users, and has very powerful and targeted demographic tools that help companies to hone in on their target market.

Common misperception #2: Facebook is only for college students
According to the Facebook Press Room page, there are more than 200 million active users on Facebook and a million new members are joining each week in the U.S. alone. Contrary to what many of my audiences believe- more than two-thirds of Facebook users are not in college. According to comscore.com, more than 50% of Facebook's users in the U.S. are over 35; the single biggest age demographic in the U.S. on Facebook is now between 35 and 44, and Facebook's fastest growing age group is 55 and older. They also reported that Facebook ranks as the top social networking site in the majority of European countries.

Common misperception #3: I am too busy for this, and besides-it is not worth my time
Some of the reasons why social networking sites like Facebook are increasingly being used by companies is because they provide businesses the opportunity to easily and efficiently communicate regularly with the people in their network. Networks can include people with whom they are currently doing business, people whom they would like to do business, vendors, and potential business partners.

Social networking sites like Facebook are serving as an adjunct to, and in some cases, replacement for, traditional means of communication such as newsletters and direct mail. Facebook can be used to regularly announce or get feedback on new products, spotlight new employees or existing employees accomplishments or talents, reward customer loyalty, promote special events and special offers, as well as to create partnerships. According to a Forrester Research interactive marketing online research survey (March 2009): "40% of companies surveyed expect to cut direct mail budgets, while 35% will decrease newspaper spend, and 28% will slash magazine money in order to spend more in interactive media." Some companies have reported that by using these online means of communication they have reduced their marketing budget while at the same time increasing sales.

Why Social Networking works:
What companies that use social networking sites are finding is that these sites allow them to more regularly communicate with people, vendors, clients, colleagues, and prospects, which, in turn, helps business understand their customers needs better, increase trust, and therefore build better business relationships. Most people know that Facebook has been helpful as a tool for connecting or re-connecting with friends, family and co-workers. And most understand that even the personal connections have the potential to become new business opportunities-so it makes sense that Facebook can be used to communicate with those in the business milieu.

How to Set Up a Facebook Profile:
To make use of Facebook you need to set up an account. After registering you need to do the following in order of importance:

1. Create a Profile
In order to begin to use Facebook you must create a profile detailing information about yourself. Based on site policies, you can create only 1 profile, and it must be tied to a human name, preferably your real name, not a business name. We will review setting up your business page later in this article, but first you must set up your personal profile. If you are a married female, use your maiden and married names so more people can find you. Facebook has a "Friend Finder" feature that allows users to search for people by school, company, or organization. In order for people to find you -you must so be sure to list all of your previous schools, organizations, employers, in your profile. Thoroughly complete the "About Me" section to describe your business and what services or products you offer. In the "Information" box on your profile page, you need to include links to your website address, newsletter, blog and other business information such as your company contact information, logo and a photo of yourself. Your profile page should be considered your "branding" page or your marketing campaign. If you are working for a company-you don't have to list all your personal interests-just limit your entry to listing your professional interests. You can syndicate your blog on your profile page. By doing this you are enabling any post that you make to automatically appear on your profile page and all of those people who are connected to you will see it.

2. Build Your Contact List
Facebook was created based on the concept of connecting with friends. You can send and receive "friend requests" and once accepted, your friend can view your profile and you can view theirs. To begin connecting with people that you know, you can either import your address book/ contact database, or you can also search Facebook for individual people.

You can also view the friends list of each person with whom you are connected. If you know any of your new friend's connections, or you would like to know them-you can send a connection request. You can grow your friend list by inviting all your clients, business associates, customers, family, friends, co-workers, school alumni, neighbors, and anyone else you think would be interested in connecting. I would suggest also using the search feature on Facebook to look up people with whom you have lost contact. After befriending -your profile will show up on all your friends' pages. Therefore, the more friends you have- the more pages your profile will appear-leading to more people who will see your page and possibly get in touch with you.

3. Communicate by using Wall Posts
Each Facebook member has a "wall" where friends can post messages. In the business networking world, this is the online equivalent of calling them on the phone. You can send a complement to a colleague on their work by writing this on their wall, comment on their new service or product offering, or communicate an upcoming training or networking opportunity.

4. Update Your Status
At the top of your Facebook page is a status box. When you post a status update, everyone in your friends list can see your update on their home page. For business owners, this is the place to share tips, promote events, post blog updates, announce new products, links to your affiliate programs, links to interesting video or audio presentations, websites, articles, and newsletters.You can add updates as often as you are able in the " What's on you mind?" box. These will appear on all of your friends' pages so ensure that they are meant for everyone on your friend list, and are professional in nature. Otherwise, you risk people removing you from their list.

5. Participate in Groups
Online groups allow you to network virtually with potential clients and peers. You can also join Groups on Facebook that are related to your work. There are groups for therapist, teachers, coaches, and every conceivable profession. You can network, and learn from experts in the field. Another way to maximize the potential and relevance of these groups is to start one of your own. There is no cost to do this and this is a great way to improve your company's visibility. For example, I started a group for mental health facility administrators in Boston. This group is now a resource for sharing best practices and may over time lead to mutual referral relationships. To access groups, start from your Facebook home page, view the list of applications and click on "Groups." You can browse through thousands of groups by area of interest, by industry and geography. There are an incredibly varied selection of topics and professions all over the map.

6. Build Your Friends List
For business purposes, it makes sense to have as many friends as possible. One way to do this is to join a group and send connection requests to fellow members with a note letting them know of your interest in connecting with them on Facebook. Just as you would with an in-person business introduction, be sure to check out their profile and learn about what they are currently doing. Networking always works best when there is a two-way exchange. Find ways you can be helpful to them such as introducing them to a colleague or potential business partner and they may likely reciprocate and return the favor. Also, create your own events page, or post on the Facebook "Events page." You can even see how many RSVP and get feedback from attendees.

7. Create Fan Pages
Because Facebook requires that a profile be designated to a person, not a business, they have instead provided the ability to create fan pages. You can create a fan page for a business, book, product, author, speaker, celebrity or just about anything else you want. To create a fan page, scroll all the way down to the bottom of Facebook and click on "Advertising" (don't worry, this is free to set-up). Next, click on "Pages" at the top of the screen. You will find some helpful explanations about how pages work, along with the link that will allow you to create your own fan page. Once your page is created you can add links, events, discussion boards and other features that make them interactive. Your updates from your fan pages will appear on your profile so your friends will know about them. You can invite people to become a "fan" of your page as an alternative to sending friend requests which will help you to further cultivate an online community

8. Use the Marketplace
Facebook has an online marketplace that allows you to list your services and products at no cost. This is a great way for you or your company to get exposure. You can also use the marketplace to find items or services that you need.