Business Perspective

Advantages of facebook marketing My friend’s brother-in-law graduated from college early last year and got a well paying job, but nine months later he found himself out in the cold with no job. After a job search of almost six months he decided to take matters in his own hands and started a sandal making business. Fast forward and his business is now booming. He is earning a living through making African sandals.One of the ways that this man is using to market his products is facebook. At first he was shy about the use of facebook, but his wife decided to take pictures of the sandals and posted them for her friends to see, and voila! They were instant hits -thanks to facebook.For starters, using facebook as a marketing tool is a new concept compared to other modes of marketing. Many business people often wonder whether it is a good idea to use facebook as a marketing platform; but time has proven that it is, with over a billion users ranging from 18 years and above-there could be no better platform to market your products than facebook.First and foremost when going to facebook marketing; one has to create a profile page. A lot of creativity is needed when creating the profile page; because a smart page will speak volumes about your business and the quality of services that you are offering. Pictures of the products you are selling are also very important when using facebook marketing. Also create a wide network because this is the only way to reach to a bigger audience at all times.I have seen business owners creating fan pages. This is an excellent tool to add credibility and professionalism to your business. Interacting with your fans on the fan page is an excellent way to stay in touch with your clients and maybe even potential clients. Apart from the fan page, it is also advisable to create a group facebook whereby it is easy for a business owner to interact and communicate to the clients all at once; especially when there is a new product to be marketed. The facebook group saves a business owner time and money with just a single click.Creating updates is another way to keep your clients glued to your services and products. When there is anything new concerning the company or the services, all can be posted here; but at the same time this page should have some interesting news every other day, otherwise if it becomes boring-clients will drift away.Create a different landing page-new clients should be given a different landing page from the old clients. This is so that each of this group can be given different attention according to their needs –but at the same time all of them should be given equal opportunities. Creating a social plug-in is a must in facebook marketing. Some people have blogs and even websites and these can be connected to the facebook. Additional buttons where clients can leave comments and messages is very important for a business owner; these messages reveal a lot of information and can help in taking your company to another level. It is also among the best ways to attract new clients and retaining the old. For small companies, facebook marketing is one of the cheapest forms of marketing-but which reaches to over a billion users every single day. Just in case the budget is too tight for the company to use other methods of marketing like using print and electronic media; consider facebook marketing for starters. Kayitesius@yahoo.com