Using Facebook For Growing Your Business

Social media is the ultimate vehicle for marketing your products nowadays.

Any business that is NOT taking advantage of the power of Facebook, for instance, is missing out on huge opportunities to establish their brands and make sales.

 Creating an account used specifically for business only might be a good option. Some of your friends and family may not be interested in the business side of you and prefer to only interact with you socially.

So now that you have a Facebook account to start your advertising campaign, where do you start?

a) Establish Your Goal – how many “likes” are you wanting for your FB page? How many visitors are you wanting to see your website? These blend very well together, working hand in hand. Once you decide on your objectives, it’s time to explore what FB has to offer in terms of advertising schemes.

b) Page Likes – starting with this feature will help grow your audience and build your brand. More likes will encourage even MORE likes, gaining your popularity and exposure.

c) Facebook Offers - If you have something to offer exclusively for FB members, you may want to explore this option. You can give away things like e-books (PLRs) in exchange for an email address or signing up with your referral link. You can also give a discount on a product for visiting your site. Start with your fans and then move on to a bigger audience.

d) Post Interesting Images – people are visual by nature. Eye-catching and humorous images are always a plus in order to get their attention. You can buy images from sites like www.dreamstime.com or get someone to customize an image from www.fiverr.com for only $5 or simply share images that have been shared with you.

e) Update your status with breaking news stories - that you think others might be interested in. Your shared status does not always need to be strictly business, but always refrain from sharing biased political opinions, religious topics or anything that others may find offensive. You want to attractive the masses, not just those who share your taste and beliefs.

f) Paid Advertising - in order to control your marketing costs, you can select a bidding option or choose between daily or lifetime budget. In this way, you can monitor how much money you are spending on a daily basis. You can target your audience geographically (in different campaigns) to see areas that respond well to your offers. Better still, make a spreadsheet and record every single dollar that you spend in order track your successes. Treat this like a business!

g) Free Advertising - if you lack in budget but you are keen to promote your products and businesses to Facebook members, you can choose to create a Facebook Fan page or Facebook Group and invite them to join your pages in an interactive or non-interactive way. You can even join other members’ Groups to promote your businesses.

Now that you know the basics of Facebook advertising and marketing, you can determine if you would like to start your advertising campaign with a budget in mind or create a new Fanpage and/or Group page for free.

Below are the steps and lists of useful references that you can read up on and explore further on the different methods and ideas on making your advertising truly successful.

1. Creating a Facebook Ad

a) What are the benefits of creating a Facebook Ad Campaign?

Advertising on Facebook will cost a fraction of the amount that you would normally spend on other online advertising avenues. This makes Facebook appealing to small and medium size businesses. You can reach a specific target within Facebook by selecting categories, images, location, age groups, gender, relationship status and even the time schedule when your ad will be posted. You can even promote your FB Fan pages to get more likes and increase your fan base over time. You will be paying for Impressions or Clicks.

b) What are the steps to creating a Facebook Ad Campaign?

Below, you will be able to find the tutorials on how to create an advertising campaign on Facebook easily. You can also find tips on how to get the most exposure with a limited budget.

Website Tutorial 1:

https://www.facebook.com/help/318171828273417/

Website Tutorial 2:

http://buyseech.com/2011/05/31/how-much-do-facebook-ads-cost-how-to-get-the-lowest-cost-per-click/

Website Tutorial 3:

http://www.businessinsider.com/how-to-buy-a-facebook-ad-in-15-minutes-or-less-2009-9?IR=T&op=1

Website Tutorial 4:

http://blog.hubspot.com/blog/tabid/6307/bid/33319/10-Examples-of-Facebook-Ads-That-Actually-Work-And-Why.aspx

Youtube Tutorial 1:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qYcwNzcLrTA

c) How do I market my Facebook Ads and make them stand out?

Advertising on Facebook can be overwhelming as you are constantly competing with others for ad space on a daily basis. Being able to stay ahead of your competitors is important to make your ads stand out!

Website Tutorial 1:

http://searchenginewatch.com/article/2189953/3-Tips-to-Make-Your-Facebook-Ads-Stand-Out-From-the-Herd

Youtube Tutorial 1:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uFhjaL0ywJU&list=UUqHUdxUEtnX6LqUrwVC1Gnw  

Youtube Tutorial 2:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iJhMN49B3ig

If you need ideas for ad headlines and text ads, visit our pages dedicated to Email Headlines and Text Ads.

2. Creating a Facebook Fan page

a) What are the benefits of creating a Facebook Fan page?

A facebook Fan page, also known as a Business page is an effective way to reach your market (other members) by giving them useful informaton about your business or products on a regular basis and interacting with them to build trust and followers on Facebook. Here are the main benefits of having your own Fan page.

• Structured sales setting for publicly presenting your products or services

• Members of your fan page will automatically get notifications of new posts or they can opt to block notifications

• Anyone is allowed to “like” your fanpage

• Control both posts and comments made others by requiring approval before they are seen by others

• Delete posts and comments

• Remove and permanently ban members of your fan page

• Boost your sales by purchasing promoting packages from Facebook

• Feature videos for extra attention and information about what you are offering

b) What are the steps to creating a Facebook Fan page?

Below, you will be able to find the tutorials on how to create a Fanpage on Facebook easily.

Website Tutorial 1:

https://www.facebook.com/pages/create?campaign_id=163681540489385&placement=%2Fbusiness&creative=header

Website Tutorial 2:

http://www.qwaya.com/facebook-for-business/facebook-page-advertising

Website Tutorial 3:

http://www.postplanner.com/facebook-fan-page-mouth-to-mouth-3-facebook-posts-per-day/

Website Tutorial 4:

http://www.postplanner.com/6-awesome-facebook-fan-page-features/

Youtube Tutorial 1:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=09h6lY71TcY

Youtube Tutorial 2:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BKSOO2Q4UGY

Youtube Tutorial 3:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_lFr_p6xFZ4 (Facebook Offers)

c) How do I market my Facebook Fan page?

Now that you have created a beautiful Facebook Fan page, you need to get it out there so that other members will join you. Here are a few pointers on how to market your page through getting more “Likes” and Building Audience” functions as well as targeting your market.

Website Tutorial 1:

http://www.postplanner.com/how-to-create-use-facebook-like-ads-grow-fan-page/

Website Tutorial 2:

http://www.ignitesocialmedia.com/facebook-marketing/20-ways-increase-facebook-page-visibility-rank-news-feed/

Youtube Tutorial 1:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BKSOO2Q4UGY

Youtube Tutorial 2:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ziHZWzAdqNs  (how to get Likes for free)

Youtube Tutorial 3:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sh2A48Unh4s  (how to get Likes for a fee)

Youtube Tutorial 4:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BbbUYuAv5qg

Youtube Tutorial 5:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uFhjaL0ywJU&list=UUqHUdxUEtnX6LqUrwVC1Gnw  

3. Creating a Facebook Group

a) What are the benefits of creating a Facebook Group?

People create a Facebook Group to be able to communicate with a close circle of people by sharing posts and basically just to keep in touch.

• Casual social setting for interacting with others and a good way to build relationships

• Members of your group will automatically get notifications of new posts or they can opt to block notifications

• Control who joins your group, by requiring approval or leave the group open for anyone

• Control posts by requiring approval before they are seen by others

• Delete posts and comments

• Remove and permanently ban members of your group

b) What are the steps to creating a Facebook Group?

Below, you will be able to find the tutorials on how to create a Group on Facebook easily.

Website Tutorial 1:

https://www.facebook.com/help/167970719931213/?q=how+to+create+a+page&sid=0OK4UtwGVxhISdfMo

Website Tutorial 2:

http://www.postplanner.com/how-to-create-a-facebook-group/

Youtube Tutorial 1:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UOlG1G0IKL8

Youtube Tutorial 2:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XvVdRvT4ObI

c) How do I market my Facebook Group?

How do you get other Facebook users to join your group or even become aware of your posts after you’ve created them? Let’s review some suggestions below:

Youtube Tutorial 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DsnqmCeqf_E

Youtube Tutorial 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mbRBAoJp0HM  (this also applies to Facebook Fan pages)

4. Advertising In Other Facebook Groups

 a) What are the benefits of advertising in other Facebook Groups?

You don’t have to create your own Facebook Group to promote your businesses. You can also “piggyback” on other members’ existing groups which allow you to post your business opportunities to other members within the group. Make sure that you read their Terms and Conditions before posting to ensure that you do not post material that is not allowed and risk getting banned!

b) What are the steps for posting in other Facebook Groups?

It is quite easy to make posts in other Groups. However, when your list of Groups start to grow, it will become time consuming. It is important to manage your posts in Facebook, especially when you also have Fan pages to manage and your personal page to maintain.

Website Tutorial 1:

http://louisevenison.com/923

Youtube Tutorial 1:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UdWm4iAxwf0

c) How do I market my Facebook Group in other Groups?

You need to locate as many Facebook Groups available that is relevant to your business and join each and every one of them. You may then create a few sample posts in a document for you to use on them on there Groups on a regular basis, leading the reader back to YOUR Group. Plase do NOT overpost as it you may be banned by the admin of the Group for over posting and going against their terms and conditions.

Youtube Tutorial 1:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DsnqmCeqf_E

5. Facebook Offers

Certain businesses, brands and organizations can share discounts with their customers by posting an offer on their Facebook Page. When someone claims an offer, they'll receive an email that they can show at the Page's physical location to get the discount. Adding Offers in your Fan pages is a great way to create an interaction with your fans and keep them interested in your business.

Website Tutorial 1:

https://www.facebook.com/help/offers

Youtube Tutorial 1:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B60eo6HcFJg

Youtube Tutorial 2:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bAgs7r3E8Zs

Whatever option you decide to try, make sure there is a Call To Action to take  the next step. Readers need to be directed to where YOU want them to go. Make that decision for them!