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Facebook Marketing 101: Understanding the Pros and Cons

Guest post by: Daniel Waser

Article Overview: If you're a regular Internet user, then chances are that you probably have a Facebook account. One of the first things that many people will ask you when the topic of the internet comes up is, 'Do you have a Facebook?' Facebook is now the most popular social networking site available, far out doing all of the similar competing sites. Being on Facebook has become a type of an identity these days. How can this help marketers like you? All it means is that Facebook is replete with potential targeted traffic, and you have to take advantage of that.

Facebook Marketing 101: Understanding the Pros and Cons

People all over the world are turning to social networking as a way to meet new people or catch up with friends and family. Even though the Internet always allowed different ways to connect, social networking proved to be one of the most influential ways to get your share of the online world and make new connections. I'm sure by now you've heard of the largest wave of social networking online: Facebook. These days, it seems that people don't really have an online identity unless they're Facebook members. On a daily basis people log on to Facebook to socialize and encounter new people, get in touch with old acquaintances, and to pass their free time with games and blogging.

Are you thinking what I'm thinking? 'Wow, is this a venue for my product? Could people on Facebook be interested in my company's services?' And indeed this is the case. There has been an explosion of advertising and marketing efforts that are initiated on Facebook as the industry gets a grasp on the reach of the platform. The million plus devotees to Facebook are a capture market full of diverse people with a variety of interests. It's a virtual rainbow of customers for an online marketer. Read on to find out how to utilize Facebook to your greatest advantage. You'll grow your business like never before.

Facebook is well aware of the potential it has to offer businesses help in driving targeted traffic to their websites. This is why they didn't wait too long to launch Social Ads, a service that allows you to place ads on Facebook and target people according to their demographics. That makes it possible for you to direct your promotions to a group selected for some characteristic such as age or gender or some other feature that identifies that group. You drastically improve your chances of getting someone to click on your ad and make a sale if you create an ad that markets specifically to their wants or needs.

You also will get fewer clicks on your promotion by people who have no interest in the product you are selling. So driving high quality traffic that converts is easy when you target the right users. What's more, you can also have a picture attached to your ad so that it can stand out from the other ads and be attention grabbing. Keep in mind that your copy, as well as the ad, is responsible for the kind of responses you will get. You need to carefully choose how your ad is written so that it can appeal to your target audience.

Social Ads is a popular way to advertise on Facebook, but it's not the only way. You also have the option to create interest groups/pages. Facebook users will join your group and become fans which spreads the word about your products and services even further! You should be able to tap into this phenomenon and use it to promote your business. Simply make a page or a group on Facebook that focuses on your business. Fill it with vital information about your company, without making it overwhelming. Influence others to become a fan of your business or join your company's Facebook group.

You will be able to send invitations to your company's group, but if you choose to develop a page instead, you won't be able to invite users to become fans. In this case, there are other methods that you can use if you are trying to attract traffic. Ultimately, it's your decision on whether a page or a group is right for your company. However, either way, you will see excellent results if you do it correctly.

There are no signs that the popularity of Facebook is waning, so now is the time to get in on the action. There is an ever growing user base that is intimately involved in the network. Before the competition gets fierce, and before things get difficult, get the most out of this social networking platform.

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Article Tags: facebook, facebook advertising, internet marketing, online markeitng, web marketing



Related Forum Posts
Re: Social Media Marketing - Corporate Vs. Small Business - Hi Jeff, A technique that I consider to be "Social Media Marketing" would be when a brand creates a profile on Facebook and then begins adding people they found in related groups as "friends". For instance, Prince Tennis requested to become friends with me because they saw that I had joined a Facebook group supporting their products. By adding me and other consumers as friends on their Facebook profile, Prince Tennis is able to market directly to its target audience. I've also seen record labels do the same for their music artists.
Re: Social media question - Facebook is where I get all my traffic. Facebook is great, because you can create fan pages and your customers come to you. Twitter is good, but I just don't see the same results. I think Facebook is the most popular and it's easier for people to find what they're looking for.
Facebook and Business - While on the Elevator today I read that MySpace and Facebook are surpassing adult-sites in traffic volumes - just thought that was interesting fact. As far as your business is concerned I think that having a Facebook account is viable as long as you keep it business and the most important thing to increase your traffic would be to link up with people well-known in your business-circle. e.g. if your were in the Marketing Business Circle I would link up with people like Dan Kennedy, Mike Filsame, Yanik Silver etc. People linked up with them will now start pouring into your content.
Re: Facebook Advertising? - Facebook has more than 700 million active users and half of them log in on a daily basis. Through Facebook advertising, you can be sure to reach any particular segment. Conventional advertising models are expensive and difficult to reach a narrow target. Facebook advertising is one option that can get you results and target specific user groups. You may be the local beauty parlor, restaurant or a Fortune 500 organization, but eBizUniverse will show how to build your brand equity through Facebook advertising. Consider these ideal scenarios: You own a restaurant and wish to target those who are recently engaged to be married for their catering business. All you need to do is to find the women with the relationship status of “engaged” on Facebook and you have your desired segment with Facebook Ads. (See Sample Ads Below) There is a birthday special that your restaurant is offering and the Facebook Ads would be displayed only to those whose birthdays are in the offing. An event is being organized and you wish to target local college graduates, who are single and 25-35 years old. They are on Facebook and you can reach them with Facebook Ads.
Re: Are you going to use Facebook Timeline? - Hi apu, I Recently used Facebook Timelines, actually it seems like a Facebook blog which makes profile page more attractive but i don't think it will help in internet marketing because it also slow the speed of Facebook Page. Share your Experience!


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