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Practice Management > Marketing and Communications > Social Media

Is your business on Facebook?

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Social media is expanding exponentially throughout the online marketing world and offers a unique channel for companies to reach clients and prospects. With over 500 million users there is no doubt that a presence on Facebook can put your company in front of thousands of potential clients. Unfortunately, Facebook Profiles are for individuals only, and not available for businesses or organizations. This is why a Fan Page is the perfect tool to employ to market your business online. It gives you the ability to expand your social network, interact with your clients and customers, and promote your company. Having a Facebook Fan Page in addition to your profile is a vital way to enhance your business’s online reputation and presence.

Why you need a Fan Page

If you are a business owner, you really need to set up a Fan Page or else you risk being left behind as more businesses shift to social networks. Facebook Fan Pages are different than profiles. You have a profile for you, John Smith, but your business can’t have a profile–it can have a page. A page is a place to house all the pertinent information about your company. They’re useful because you can include everything that relates to your business in one place with a built-in potential audience, as well as include links to your website and blog in order to expand your network.

There are numerous instruments you can work with while using a Fan Page:

  • Integrate videos
  • Share pictures
  • Create events
  • Start discussion posts
  • Send simultaneous messages to all
  • Run social ads
  • View your page statistics

Reviewing your page statistics and user analytics are crucial advantages in creating a Fan Page. You can view lots of useful data about user activity on your page, like how many likes and comments you received each day and demographic breakdowns. This data can be extremely useful in understanding the characteristics of your customer base and is not available to individual profiles.

Fan Pages act as a powerful marketing strategy by giving the power to the fans. The trick is to establish a social platform and then let them do the work for you. The platform becomes a digital forum where fans can connect, communicate and share based on your business and its objectives. They generate credibility not only with existing customers, but with potential customers as well by allowing the fans to showcase their user reviews and referrals in an open online arena.

Keys to a successful Facebook Fan Page include:

  • Active and daily Fan Page management
  • Promoting sales, specials and news
  • Engaging the user
  • Promoting brand awareness
  • Link to your blog
  • Let the fans do the work

Take advantage of the world’s leading social media network and bring major exposure to your brand and business. Utilize Facebook Fan Pages to drive traffic to your website and/or blog and then track your user analytics in order to find out what works and what doesn’t. The accessibility, centralization, ability to monitor and track, and the ease of promoting the reputation of your brand and business will make your Facebook Fan Page a crucial part of your social media marketing strategy.

For more on social media, see:

Amy McIlwain is a professional speaker on social media and president of Financial Social Media, an online marketing firm specializing in the financial industry. She can be reached through her website at www.financialsocialmedia.com and on Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter.


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