Munir Ahmad Blog

Facebook does provide a place for you to represent your business, and that is Facebook Pages.

Here’s the #1 reason to have your own Facebook Page (as well as your own Profile):

More people can find out about your business because your Page gets indexed and is searchable inside and outside of Facebook.

Other reasons include:

• Because the number of Fans you can have is unlimited (whereas the Friend limit is 5,000).
• Activity on your Page helps increase what I call “viral visibility” on Facebook.
• You can establish your brand even further.

As a Summary:

1. Pages are public. Most of Facebook is behind a login, preventing search engines from indexing.  However, some Fan pages are not behind a login and thus search engines can index the page.  Hopefully, people will stumble on the result in SERPs, visit the Facebook page, and then get to your site via the link (see reason #2).
2. Pages include links. Because the pages are public, you can get some nice facebook.com link credit.  You can’t use an anchor text, but hey, it’s free.
3. Send “updates to fans”. One of the greatest features is that you can send “updates” to fans whenever you want.  It’s a nice way of building a database of interested users.  Send messages about new products, updated website, etc.
4. You control the page. Making the page before a Fan or a competitor is critical.  You want to be able to send the messages, edit or remove sections, and control the information to an extent.
5. News feed. When a someone joins a Fan page, it’s published in their News feed for all their to read (unless they have turned this off).  It makes someone joining your Fan page somewhat viral.
6. It’s free and easy. Making a Fan page takes just a few minutes – add some information, URL, and upload the logo and you’re done.  You can make your page here.

Facebook is a popular online social networking site that adds a quarter million new users every day and currently has over 120 million active users. If you think your target audience isn’t on Facebook, you might be surprised to learn the fastest growing demographic is the 25 and older group.

If you’re not comfortable or familiar with social media, you should think of it as a new take on the networking event, except with less pressure to make small talk and no shrimp cocktail boat.

By investing some time and energy into Facebook you can build brand loyalty, establish your expertise, engage your customers on a deeper level, and drive qualified leads back to your Web site.

Step 1: Create Your Profile

Facebook is about personal relationships; the coin of the realm is “friends.” While people may want to be friends with you, chances are they aren’t looking to be friends with your company. Did you ever have a heart-to-heart with Nike, or go to the movies with General Motors?

In fact, creating a profile for your business breaks Facebook’s terms and conditions. Therefore, you need to start by creating a personal profile using your real name.

To build your profile upload a photo, enter your education, business and contact info, and join your local network (i.e., Lisbon, Portugal).

The more complete your profile, the more easily you can connect with other people. If you’re concerned about privacy, Facebook offers highly customizable privacy settings that control who can see different elements of your profile. This way you can share photos of your kids with friends and family, but not with your boss or customers.

Next you can upload your contact database to see which of your contacts are already on Facebook, and ask to “friend” any of them you wish. This gives you a good starting point on Facebook, rather than starting cold.

Step 2: Create Your Company Page

Once you have a personal profile, you can create a page for your business. Pages can be populated with company information, photos, video, upcoming events, discussion forums and links back to your Web site.

You can also add additional applications to increase the functionality of your page, such as an RSS feed from your blog or embedded videos from YouTube. Pages are made publicly available so search engines can find and index them, which is an added benefit.

People on Facebook can become “fans” of your company, which is a great way for you to stay in touch with them and share information and advice. Think of gaining Facebook “friends” or business “fans” in the same way you think of increasing your email subscriber base: they build your network.

You can promote your company page via email, your blog, and through the Facebook network to drive more traffic and build up your fan base.

If you’re wondering why you need a Facebook page since you already have a Web site (and maybe a blog,) it’s about being where your customers are…location, location, location.

Step 3: Join and Create Groups

Another way to network on Facebook is through the use of groups. Groups, unlike pages, are only visible to Facebook members. Groups can be formed around anything from sustainable business practices to political affiliations to love of a particular video game or breed of dog.

Chances are your prospects already participate in these groups; if not, create a new group and invite some friends and fans to get the ball rolling. An assisted living resident might create a “sandwich generation” group; a business coach might create a personal power group.

Once nice benefit of groups is that you can “bulk invite” people to join (who are connected to you on Facebook), and they can then “bulk invite” their friends as well. This means your group can go viral quickly, and so groups are great ways of promoting a movement.

Words of Caution (or Don’t Be “That Guy”)

You know those people who go to networking events and try to sell you long before they learn anything about your needs?  It’s easy in real life to see how obnoxious that behavior is, right?

Well, then don’t behave that way on Facebook. (Or on any social media site, for that matter.) Anyone jumping into social media as a way to make a quick sale will be sorely disappointed, and may irrevocably damage their reputation.

Social media is about building relationships; you build your network and your reputation over time by providing value to other people. The best book ever written on social media marketing could well be How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie.

“You need to focus on building rapport, reaching out to connect with others, adding value, sharing information relative to your niche and marketplace.”

In Conclusion

Facebook is a powerful networking tool that connects you with your prospects and customers in new and engaging ways. There are conversations, events, and networking opportunities that are only happening there; if you’re not on Facebook, you’re missing these opportunities.

Every small business owner and entrepreneur should invest some time to determine how Facebook fits in with the rest of his or her marketing efforts.

BonArtisan.com is an innovative portal that enables small businesses to put their word of mouth on the Internet and consumer to select them in confidence. So far only in France and dedicated to craftsmen, BonArtisan.com is the largest database in France with more than 380 000 businesses.

Businesses can improve their visibility by creating a customized web site in a matter or minutes without any web technology knowledge. The real innovation lies in a patented fraud detection technology that enables consumers to rate the businesses in confidence. According to customer’s rating, craftsmen’s web site will display a color helmet from gold to bronze, or grey if no rating is available. A guest book is also available to leave comments.

Creating and hosting a web page with rating services only costs 14.90€ /month, a fraction of the cost of any other alternative and about the same price as a very basic directory service from traditionnal providers.

This innovative service is really the proof point that technology is now readily available and accessible to enable small businesses to promote their service effectively using the internet at a very low cost and with basic PC technology knowledge.

The consumer portal is designed with women in mind. This is a gold mine for people looking for the latest product or ideas in decoration and renovation. A forum allows consumers to share their experience with eachother and finally to choose a good professional near them. The site is accessible on mobile phone as well as traditionnal web browsers. So far vailable only in France, the service will expand to other service providers and soon countries.

Give it a try at www.bonartisan.com and tell people about it!

Viral Marketing has been around since 1996, but has been in a constant state of flux since it was first used as a marketing tool. Although many people have heard the term for years, it is very surprising how few people actually know what Viral Marketing is and how it works.

When used correctly, Viral Marketing can make a huge impact almost immediately. On the other hand, incorrect viral marketing can be a major waste of both time and money. How can we ensure that our viral marketing efforts deliver the desired results?

First, let’s make sure we are all on the same page regarding this mysterious advertising technique. What exactly is viral marketing? The definition of viral marketing is … a method of advertising products or services that causes recipients to pass them on to friends, associates and family members. Viral marketing got its odd name because the word spreads like a virus.

When done correctly, one person will give it to a few people who in turn will pass it on to several other people. This is what makes viral marketing so effective. For instance, let’s say you developed a training website and offered the training FREE to 10 people, who in turn forwarded the site to 10 people, who in turn passed it on to 10 people each. This simple viral campaign would put your website in front of 1,000 people almost immediately.

Now here’s where it gets fun … if everyone passes it on to 10 people and this progression continues just three more times, one million people will have access to YOUR website. Continue the progression twice more and 100,000,000 people (100 million people) will have been exposed to YOUR website. And because the Internet is so efficient, it could realistically happen in a matter of days, weeks or months.

In the beginning, email was the only way to effectively start and execute a viral marketing campaign. In the decade since, viral marketing has evolved from a marketing strategy to an art form and there are many ways to accomplish the objective of creating a successful viral marketing campaign. Here a just of few of the ways you can start a successful viral marketing promotion:

Email - This is where it all started. This is still the most widely used viral marketing medium, but government and ISP restrictions have made email marketing more challenging. Before investing in an extensive email marketing campaign, make sure you are working with a proven vendor and technology. When done correctly, this is still the best way to start and stimulate your viral advertising promotion.

Blogging - Providing the tools on your website to enable bloggers to interact with one another is a terrific way to get the message about your product of service out there and being talked about. Bloggers have their ears to the ground for new products and services.

Training Articles – By providing valuable resources to a targeted audience (home business owners, Internet marketers, pet owners, chefs, etc.), you can easily penetrate the market through the ‘back door.’ By offering high quality FREE training to specific niches, you increase your exposure and credibility, all in one fell swoop.

Newsletters - eNewsletter and eZines are a variation of email marketing and can be very effective tools. If you include enough timely and valuable information, a good newsletter can drive up the number of visits to your website.

Refer-A-Friend – If you add this with a statement saying that e-mail addresses supplied will never be shared with third parties, you can increase your potential customer list greatly.

The main thing to remember about effective Viral Marketing is that it all starts with a valuable tool or resource. The most effective viral advertising includes a product or service must provide tangible, measurable benefits at no cost to the recipient.

Once you have a product or service of value to offer, you have to get the ball rolling by ’seeding’ your viral marketing campaign. Think of it like a snowball rolling down a hill. In the beginning, you have to work hard to push the snowball while it gathers mass and speed. After the snowball reaches ‘critical mass’, it begins to take on a life of its own. Your viral marketing promotion is no different. Get it started, keep working at it, and soon it will begin to promote itself.