Putting Facebook to Work For Your Business
Assuming you’re one of 995 million people in the world who has a Facebook account, you’ve probably already discovered just how captivating and useful the social networking platform can be. What you may not know is how Facebook - when used effectively - can be used to grow and improve your business. From expanding your company by hiring new candidates to increasing brand awareness through social sharing, Facebook is an invaluable marketing tool in the digital age. But how do you use Facebook to its full business potential? You may know how to use Facebook for your personal life, but using the social network for business requires an understanding of the specific marketing opportunities found therein beyond merely setting up a page for your company. Here are four aspects to take into account as you move your business to Facebook.
- Safety and Security: First and foremost, for every opportunity the internet presents, there is an inherent danger attached. Just as Facebook can build your brand online, it can destroy it. Poor discretion on what gets published to your company page and how your company presents itself online can damage your brand, especially when Facebook puts you under the eyes of millions of consumers everyday. This course provides a jumpstart on how to use Facebook appropriately, so you can get to down to business: Appropriate Use of Facebook.
- Recruiting: Finding new candidates for a job is easy and cost-effective when you use Facebook. You can search for potential candidates through the directory and post job listings on the Facebook Marketplace, reaching millions of talented individuals. You can even pay to post job ads, segmented by target demographics and relevant industries or interests. These courses provide a great intro into what Facebook can offer for your recruitment strategies:
- Branding and Marketing: With hundreds of millions of Facebook users online at any hour of the day, marketing and advertising through Facebook is increasingly lucrative. Getting people to “Like” your company page, stimulating dialogue with customers on your feed, and sharing your monthly newsletter are great ways to make your brand accessible. Facebook analytics make it easy to track who likes your page so you can see what type of audience you are attracting and tailor your content accordingly. Additionally, Facebook makes it simple to start crafting your own ads. You can post an ad in just a few minutes. Facebook ad tools include great features to segment your target demographics and reach. However, before you go posting ads it’s also important to understand what factors go into social media marketing and what strategies rope consumers in rather than just annoy them. Use these courses to get a handle on social media marketing through Facebook:
- Business Apps: Facebook provides a wealth of great apps to utilize for your business. The trick is understanding which ones work best to accomplish your social media objectives. With the ability for slideshare, free conference calling, group collaboration, content development tools, and direct LinkedIn connection tools to name a few, Facebook apps can be a great option for small companies seeking simple and compact enterprise application solutions. This course is a great resource for learning to integrate your business through Facebook and exploring the available applications:
Setting up a Facebook account for your company is a free and easy way to get your business integrated into the vast social media circles of the digital age. Whether you are small company looking for local job recruits and simple advertising options, or a large enterprise looking to increase brand awareness and accessibility, Facebook is an invaluable asset to expand and nurture your business, so long as you use it right.
(Image source: Goiaba Flickr)