9/1/2010
Why Your Business Needs to Be on Facebook
Facebook for Business
Facebook is the hottest thing going in social media right now. Still, there are a lot of skeptics in b2b and b2c who don’t see how Facebook can advance their business objectives. The objections I hear most often:
- Facebook is fine for big consumer brands with an established following, but we’re not in that category.
- Facebook is recreational – people don’t go there to do business.
- Facebook is fad. Next year you’ll be telling me to drop everything and rush to some other social media platform
Why Facebook Belongs in Your Social Media Mix
Big current opportunity. I have no answer to the third objection – it’s possible that Facebook could be yesterday’s news tomorrow, but it’s the nature of social media that we must keep one eye on today and the other on tomorrow. Things change rapidly in social media. So yes, it’s risky to put all your social media eggs in one basket. But on the other hand, if you wait for social media to stabilize, you will have a long wait and miss spectacular opportunities to generate business in the meantime. Today, Facebook has upwards of 500 million users and more than 150 mobile users. What business can afford to overlook a market of that size? – especially one that can be so effectively segmented.
Spectacular advertising opportunity. Like George Halas and nickels, I throw around overblown adjectives like manhole covers. When I say spectacular, I mean it. Facebook ads can be precisely targeted and are far more relevant to users than what can be achieved in other PPC models. Most Facebook users I talk to say they don’t mind the ads and many actually like them.
You don’t have to do business to get business. It’s true that Facebook is by and large a recreational social media channel – at least for the moment. As brands stampede to Facebook, that may change, but let’s consider the dynamics as they stand. For about a year, my main activity on Facebook was playing Farmville – a non-business endeavor if ever there was one. But, while playing the game, I was exposed to many ads I took action on (they were relevant to my business and personal interests). While playing the game, I checked out Fan pages my friends talked about in my News Feed. Not only did I frequently become a Fan of those brands, I spread the word to my friends. From what I can tell, my behavior is typical. Bottom line: Business and pleasure mix on Facebook. Brand exposure and conversion opportunities can spread through Facebook networks quickly and in high volume.
Branded search opportunities. If a customer or prospect googles your business name, your Facebook page – if you have one – will likely move very high in the rankings. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if those customers and prospects who like Facebook became fans and started talking up your brand?
Facebook is not always a volume game. Customers want to interact with brands they use – and that goes for small local brands as well as global giants. If you’re a local, regional or highly specialized business, you don’t need 10,000 fans to succeed on Facebook.You just need the right fans.
Facebook boosts morale and personalizes your business. Often, a company’s Facebook strategy focuses on employees instead of or in addition to customers. This is a sound approach. Facebook serves as an effective communication hub for employee activities and goings-on, and if done properly makes a powerful impression on customer fans. Facebook gives customers and prospects a look behind the curtain, a way to get a flavor of the spirit that moves the organization. Today that’s what matters. And again, it matters whether you’re a global brand or the corner drugstore.
Not convinced? What’s holding you back? Contact me to talk about your social media marketing ideas.
10 Responses to Why Your Business Needs to Be on Facebook
I’m not sure that I agree that every business needs to be on Facebook. Sure, it’s an important part of the social media sphere, but if your business is in the B2B arena do you not think that you may be better off focusing on a combination of LinkedIn and Twitter?
I think Facebook is a great tool for every business, whether you are a B2B or B2C company. Yes, LinkedIn does have many features that are made specifically for interacting with other businesses, but with the popularity of Facebook, it can only be an advantage to have your business on Facebook. There are plenty of opportunities to interact with other businesses on Facebook, and with the use of Facebook Pages, you can separate yourself from a general user to a business.
David, Yours the very question I’ve been contemplating for many months, and my thinking really has changed in the last few months. The way I look at it now is that Facebook, along with Twitter and LinkedIn, are standard components of a marketing program. By way of analogy, most b2b sales organizations use a combination of resources – outside sales, telephone sales, Web sales or lead generation, etc. Most companies wouldn’t put all their eggs in one basket. Or looked at another way … I’m an old guy and I can remember a big debate on whether to invest in a fax machine. A few years later it was a business essential. I remember when companies hotly debated whether to have a website – soon it was a business essential. In 2005 when I started to bang the drum for business blogs, people thought the idea was crazy – today a blog is, if not an essential, something you’d need a darned good reason not to have. I think Facebook now falls into that essential category. That could change, but FB has a lot of momentum and I doubt it. I think Mandeep has it right and said it much more succinctly – FB is all upside and no downside.
Brad,
Nice article. Since David brought up the subject of Twitter,can you address:
I’m a consultant. When I follow my potential clients on Twitter, many times they will follow me back. But what good is that? My target may be the CEO, CMO, or COO of the organization. The “designated Tweeter” on the client side, however, is typically a lower level marketing person, or a 3rd party that’s paid to regularly send outbound Tweets. Usually both of them have outbound Tweeting responsibility, but I’ve not observed much “Hey boss, you need to start following this company’s tweets” as inbound Tweeting responsibility.
Thanks,
Dave
Hi Dave, Great question. A few thoughts …
Have you looked for CEOs who use Twitter? They may be worth trying to connect with. http://www.webpronews.com/blogtalk/2009/05/11/follow-these-ceos-on-twitter
The extent to which Twitter is effective for direct lead generation varies a great deal. If you seek company or third-party tweeters to refer you to the boss, you’ll have to tweet something pretty compelling over a long period of time to gauge the results.
Keywords are important to consider. People regularly search the Twitter database for information and can find you through a keyword search whether they follow you or not. If there are keywords that your targets may be searching for, incorporate those words in your tweets.
I have a business Facebook page mainly to help me in writing articles about using FB in business. Right now, it’s a pitiful page that just imports blog entries. But at least, it’s there and ready for whenever I decide it’s important enough to do more.
Meryl, Do you know of other writers who have found effective ways to use Facebook? That’s something I’ve been meaning to investigate.
Definitely. Top of my head: Allison Winn Scotch. Just wrote about using Facebook for writers over at Writer Unboxed. It’s still a great tool — just not working for my needs yet.
Brad,
Facebook is an established platform. Those who ignore the opportunities it presents do so at their peril.
Granted there may be some types of businesses for whom a Facebook presence may not be necessary. Some micro-businesses, such as local fish and chip shops or cafes, for example, probably don’t need to be overly concerned about social media. (Though for other types of micro-businesses, especially those in the service industry, Facebook is a must.) At the other end of the scale, I would guess that there may be some multi-nationals for whom Facebook may not be an overly significant priority – a global mining company which already has established relationships with large corporate customers might be an example. And some professional firms, such as those in accountancy or law, might find LinkIn a more effective medium to tap into their target market.
But these are the exceptions rather than the rule, and a Facebook presence is a must for the vast majority of enterprises if they are to take full advantage of the opportunities to promote their offering.
Hi Andrew, There are always exceptions, and I would even go beyond what you say and remark that some companies where social media looks like a sure winner end up with a flop. However, I’d rather try and fail than turn a blind eye to Facebook and never give myself a chance to succeed.