Why have a Facebook Page as well as your web-site?
Like it or not, the social media era is upon us and now users have got bored of sharing photos, playing FarmVille and poking each other, businesses are starting to get in on the act. Facebook is not just a site for wasting time, but is fast becoming a way for companies to interact with their followers.
I was asked today why companies take the time and effort to create Facebook Pages when they have perfectly good web sites. The answer is simple: Engagement with your clients.
Building a community around your brand or company is difficult. Building that community on your own web site which people may not know about is even harder. That’s why major companies like Microsoft, Red Bull, Harley Davison and VW turn to Facebook to engage with users, because the Facebook Community is already huge.
Creating a presence on Facebook is pretty simple and involves going through a short procedure to generate an initial page. You can then add content such as news discussions, photos, videos and any other content Facebook supports.
The next step is to market your Facebook presence. You can add badges to your existing online presences such as your web-site, and also add links to your out-going emails, press-releases and marketing material.
As users discover you, they can become “Fans” of your page and participate in discussions on your page. As a company, you can push out marketing messages, news and invite discussion that you find interesting to these users. For example, the cut-out from my own feed on the right shows Wimbledon and The University of Salford engaging with me as a user. By becoming a Fan, I have “opted in”, which makes me to be a very viable target for marketing.
Another reason is that even if you have the best site in the world, users do forget about your site - it’s natural. Facebook marketing is an ideal way to remind users of your activity. I no longer forget about what happens at Wimbledon except for two weeks and I’m still interested in what is happening at my old University even though I left it … well, I’m not saying how long ago!
Using your Facebook channel effectively can be challenging, particularly when identifying what benefit your Facebook and social media activity is having on your bottom line.
If you want to combine your web-site with Facebook as a marketing channel give us a call and we’ll help you navigate the minefield. Or, you can join me and the rest of the island’s Social Media Club every Third Thursday at Paparazzi at 12.30pm (held by Strive PR) where we help introduce people to the benefits of social media and chat about the hottest trends.
