Is Facebook useful for my business?

Social media has boomed in business. It’s a great way to increase the public awareness of your company and also to approach new customers. With so many social media networks out there, what makes Facebook the one for your business?

Facebook has been credited as the starting point of the social media revolution. Starting out as a small concept it has grown into the largest social networking site in the world. Currently it has over 1.19 billion users per month and this number is continuing to rise with no sign of slowing down. With such a large following Facebook can be the perfect platform to gain new customers and increase brand awareness.

How to use Facebook for my business

So you have decided to take the plunge and create a page for your business. What do you do now? Below are some bullet points of key areas you should utilise to ensure your business is successful on Facebook.

• Keep your page updated – Regularly update content, opinions, company news and any useful customer information. This is a great way to interact and keep the customer engaged. It helps to give the impression that you are more than a business, and you really care about your customers and their needs.
• Generate relationships – Facebook is a chance for you to build rapport with your customers. It allows you to see their opinions of your business and its products. This is not a negative thing; comments are a great way of gaining constructive criticism and implementing positive and progressive change in your business.
• Offer deals – Offering the customer a deal via social media can encourage purchase and also shares. This can help boost your company’s reputation, the more shares and likes you get, the more people know about your business which can lead to new customers.
• Be social – Social media is a chance to get involved with the customer and generate a personal relationship. Apart from posting about your business don’t be afraid to post stuff that is funny or informative. Show your businesses human side and get people talking about your brand.
• Facebook ads – A great way to target a specific demographic. It can help you to gain new customers and establish your business on Facebook.
• Create a Facebook group that can benefit your business – Creating a group can be a good way to generate interest in your company with like minded people. By talking about your industry or interests you can occasionally promote your business as a solution to an industry problem. This can also help you to build a reputation as company that cares about its industry.

These points can really help to put you on the map and ultimately benefit your businesses bottom line. By keeping your content regular and fresh you are enticing the customer to engage with you, which then leads you onto building relationships. Social media helps to show you are more than just a business, and by interacting with the customer you are reinforcing a positive connection that they associate with your brand.