Thursday, July 28, 2011
Facebook has launched a new site called Facebook for Business, as a resource for businesses to harness what Facebook has to offer, which includes: Pages, Ads, Sponsored Stories, and the Facebook Platform.
The site gives a step-by-step rundown of how to build a presence on Facebook with a Facebook Page, which it says lets you connect with potential customers and drive traffic to your business. A comScore white paper we looked atthis week found that the average Facebook Page fan had about 50 friends.
According to Facebook, step 1 is to set up the page. That means put up an eye-catching, recognizable photo of your business's name, storefront or popular product. It also means a short blurb that describes your business (with helpful links and contact info) in the Info section, adding updates, photos, videos, and links on your Wall, and enhancing your page with apps from the Facebook App Directory, which will let you do things like share menus, stream video, etc.
Step 2, according to Facebook, is to create a page strategy, which means setting goals, sharing exclusive content, checking your page daily, and creating a conversation calendar to help you remember when, where, and what to post.
"Responding to Wall posts from your customers and updating your Page on a timely basis allows you to keep in touch with customers just as you would when they're visiting your physical store location," the company says in a side note.
Step 3 would be community building. This means using calls to action like "Like us on Facebook" on in-store signs, emails, business cards, etc. According to the company, it also means running Facebook ads and sponsored stories, and putting the "like" button on your website.
Finally, step 4 is learning and growing - checking your metrics on Page Insights regularly to learn how your page is performing, what day of the week most people visit, how often people comment, which posts are most engaging ,and how to improve your overall page strategy.
"Update your Page at times when fans are most engaged, and encourage participation with weekly features and other regular content that receive the most comments," the company suggests.
Facebook has a Page Optimization Guide here, which provides tips on creating a Page strategy. There is also a guide for using Facebook Insights.
The Facebook for Business site also has a step-by-step guide for promoting your business with Facebook ads. In a nutshell, the steps are:
1. Identify your goals
2. Target the right people
3. Design an engaging ad
4. Manage your budget
5. Review and improve
They have more guides for "improvement" including anAds Optimization guide and an Ads Manager Upgrade guide.
Steps for sponsored stories include:
1. Understand the basics
2. Choose a story type
3. Set up your budget and targeting criteria
4. Generate more stories about your business
More on this here, and in the Sponsored Stories guide.
Then there's Facebook Platform. This is going to require some developer skills, and the Developer resources can be found here.
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