If you ask around, you will find that many business owners are wary about social media marketing and how it can benefit them
. Some businesses view Facebook as a purely social media service that is meant for having fun and staying in touch with friends and family and are dubious of any claims that Facebook can be taken serious as a marketing tool, but social media, namely sites like Facebook is free and that is a huge benefit to businesses. That fact alone should be reason enough to get a page. Any marketing tool that is free and does not take from the budget should be utilized. Facebook has over 500 million users actively using the site and that is definitely a resource you can tap into. Plus, Facebook is very easy to use so even if you are wary about its benefits the fact that Facebook is free and easy to use is reason to start a fan page. You might even be surprised by the results.
Perhaps the most important benefit of Facebook is that it gives you the opportunity to drive traffic to your website, thereby giving your website a boost. You can:
-Point to new sales campaigns
-Post links to new blog posts
- Use widgets to cross promote between your Facebook profile and your site.
Even if these measures only drive a small number of your Facebook friends/fans to your site you have opened yourself up to a demographic you may not have been exposed to otherwise. Business are surprised to learn having a Facebook profile can actually improve the search engine optimization (SEO) for your site by providing back-links and encouraging clicks. Meanwhile when you share things like newsworthy blog posts on Facebook there is a good chance that some of your items will be passed along to a wider network of people. Some of whom may pass along links on their own blogs and networks.
Facebook will also strengthen customer relations. It gives businesses an opportunity to engage current and prospective customers directly. Your business staff can demonstrate through a Facebook fan page just how much you care about your customers, instead of being a being a distant company that is far-removed from the customer base that keeps them in business. Additionally, you can instantly address any questions or concerns that your customers may have plus you can be provided invaluable feedback on products and services.
Facebook is a great marketing tool that allows businesses the opportunity for ample online growth because you have access to a built in consumer base, you just have to tap into it.