Facebook for Business Use

Using Facebook Pages and Profiles to Reach Customers

Jun 18, 2009 Natalie Cooper

Once considered a "just for fun" site, Facebook has serious business uses too. Here's how to set up a Facebook page or profile for business and customize it for success.

Facebook, like MySpace, Twitter and other popular social media sites, is beginning to be seen as the valuable advertising, marketing and branding tool that it is. But it's important to use Facebook wisely.

Starting a Business Presence on Facebook

First of all, it's important to differentiate between a Facebook profile and a Facebook page. Profiles are for individuals, while pages are for companies, celebrities and professionals promoting their services.

But for a freelancer or self-employed individual, a profile might make more sense. Professionals using a profile instead of a page should keep the following in mind:

• Be selective in which friends and applications to add.
• Nothing should be displayed on one's profile that wouldn't be appropriate to display on the desk at work for all to see- so no posting embarrassing photos from parties, lewd comments or jokes and other content of questionable taste.
• Set privacy levels carefully, and go beyond the default setting. Facebook users can choose not to make their Friends list visible to casual searchers, and can also require other Facebook users to send a message before adding them as a friend.

Use Facebook to Promote the Positive

Once the profile or page is set up, it can be used to promote the good things that the professional, business or organization is doing. A few tips for making the best use of Facebook's power to reach customers:

• Customers often post items on a company's or individual's profile or page, expressing their satisfaction or displeasure. That's an opportunity to reach out to them and answer their comments and concerns in a helpful way.
• Be proactive: Facebook is a great way to help customers get the information they need about a product or service. Whatever is posted on the profile or page will automatically show up on the Facebook home page of every person who is a "fan" or a "friend" of that page or profile.
• It is also easy to send messages to everyone who is a friend or fan- that's easier than a mass-emailing campaign.

Customizing a Company Facebook Page or Professional Profile

Whatever is posted on a Facebook page or profile will become part of that company's or individual's image- so it's important to choose content wisely. Some smart ideas for any Facebook profile:

• Choose groups to join based on business interests, not personal interests.
• Add the "Causes" application to highlight the company's philanthropic side and alert friends and fans to causes and organizations that they might be interested in helping.
• Incorporate other social media: A Facebook profile can be customized to update with the latest "tweets" from a Twitter account, and the WordPress application can update the profile with the company or individual's most recent blog posts.

Facebook can be a valuable tool for reaching out to customers, or it can be a way to make a serious public relations faux pas. The key to success with Facebook is to use it wisely, avoid taking unnecessary risks, and make sure the page or profile remains helpful and positive.

For more ways to use Facebook for business, see Top 10 Business Applications for Facebook by John Jantsch.

The copyright of the article Facebook for Business Use in Marketing/PR is owned by Natalie Cooper. Permission to republish Facebook for Business Use in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.

Using Facebook for Business to Reach Customers

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