How to use Facebook for business gains?

So weve all seen or at least heard of The Social Network and were left wondering if Mark Zuckerberg really is the cold-blooded, back-stabbing villain he has been made out to be. But fact remains that he has been a game changer and all of that, way before he hit 40. Not only did he have a good idea but he executed it fabulously as well.

Facebook has changed the meaning of the term connected universe, redrawn the rules of social bonding, redefined the Web business and spun a huge fortune for its author. Today, few organisations in the world can ignore the worlds premier social networking site; it would mean ignoring almost 500 million potential clients, job seekers, business opportunities and so much more.

In November, Zuckerberg introduced a new unified messaging system for Facebook that allows people to communicate with one another on the Web and on mobile phones, whether they are using e-mail, text messages or online chat services.

Besides channelling all e-mails, text messages and chats through a single point, Facebook Messages will offer users what he called a social in-box that will prioritise messages from friends and close acquaintances and make it easier to retrieve all communications with any single person through various channels. This service is by invitation-only at present but will be introduced to all users soon.

So you see how using Facebook to grow your business just grew even more relevant?

1. Facebook Group or Facebook Page: The first dilemma a brand/company faces when jumping onto the Facebook Bandwagon is whether they should have a Company Page or a Company Group.

   These are the major differences between the two:

• Pages are created for a long-term relationships with your fans, readers or customers;

• Groups are more convenient for hosting active private discussions.

2) Creating an identity: The page should highlight your brand name, logo and product category, it should have basic information about the brand.

3) Interactive content seeding: Starting from the initial stages of building the Facebook page, you must update it with interesting and informative content. This need not be only about your brand. It could be articles pertaining to your companys domain or visions. Posts can be smartly laced with screenshots and links to your site. Videos which can disseminate information about your company or particular services that your company offers can also be posted. All these posts help new visitors make a decision about joining your page. It is imperative that the posts are updated regularly so that you are in touch with your followers and keep them from unlike-ing the page.

4) Net-working: Once the page has been decorated with enough interesting content, suggest the page to people in your friends network on Facebook. You can also write personalised mails to your customers (present and future), vendors and staff inviting them to join your Facebook Page. It helps to be active on your personal profile page and collect as many friends as possible and send invitations to your Page via the Suggest a friend option.

5) Targeting the audience: Seek out people on Facebook who will find your brand and your updates interesting. Let them know that your company page exists. With the Internet, the new trend of marketing is not to get the people to reach out to your brand; rather the brand has to reach out to the people. Companies that have understood this important changeover are getting to their target audience and creating lifelong relationships with them through Facebook.

6) Let the page talk: Consumers dont like to sit and watch the show anymore. Common knowledge says its a sin to think your consumer is dumb; the new learning says dont consider them to be mute too. Internet users are talking everywhere and want to put forth their views, suggestions and complaints. Use this to your advantage; entice them to talk on your fan page. Hold discussions on your page either by putting up status posts or using the discussion app. Engage your followers in these discussions. At times they might have to say things you dont want to hear. But its better they say it on your page, where you can respond, and not some other site or page over which you have no control. The discussions and comments can also help you learn how to take your brand further in the market and make it more consumer-friendly.

7) Greed and gratification: Weave contests and special campaigns around your brand and entice followers to participate and reward them with incentives in the form of prizes or special mentions on your page. It will be advantageous to give away products or services relevant to your company as prizes. This will also help promote your products and win over long-term loyal customers.

8) Safe landing: A landing page is essential to welcome newcomers to your page. Use it to communicate the benefits of joining your page and give reasons to stay on. Landing pages can also be used to feature the latest campaign you have going, which will compel a user to like your page.

9) Tabbed: Facebook pages give you the liberty to create Tabs, which can be used as sub pages. For example if you were a food brand, you could create a recipe tab or a calories tab to add value to your page. Tabs can hold interesting applications which you can build to interact with your followers in a fun way. If you have a Twitter account, you could integrate your Twitter feed in a Twitter Tab.

10) Number crunching: The analytics of the page can be checked by visiting the Facebook insights of your page. The interactions and the demographics of those who are interacting on your page will help you strategise and plan the activities for your page. What is the sex ratio? How many of them commented? How many people liked a particular post? From which countries is the major traffic coming from? Questions like these are answered by Facebook insights.

11) Promote: Endorse your Facebook page on not only your own but also your teams email signature. Paste a link on your company website and give it a prominent position. Facebook also provides a widget called FANBOX which you can integrate on your website, and visitors to your website can see the number of fans, view some of the latest posts and like your page from the website itself. Let everyone know about your page so that they all can be a part of your community and further fruitful conversations.

From campus chatter in 2004, Facebook has become an essential personal and business networking tool in much of the wired world in 2011 If you want proof, log on to http://www.Facebook.com/markzuckerberg to see how effectively this 26-year-old uses his business to make more business

The author is business director at Tonic Media.

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