Social Media Chronicles: Exposing Your Brand through Facebook
Having observed the social media boom in the past few years, there has always been that one question that I always ask people: “What do you use Facebook for?” The question is a perfectly legitimate one because people go on Facebook for a variety of, sometimes amusing, reasons. There are those who use social media as a means to catch up with long lost friends, play apps, stalk crushes from yesteryear, rave and rant about life and everything and nothing, and a rather small but exponentially growing percentage uses social media, as a method of building brand exposure for their businesses. The internet, after all is a door to limitless opportunities, and one of those opportunities is global brand exposure. Here’s a bit more on this topic.
Why use social media? Let me paint a picture of how businesses got some brand exposure before the internet was the coolest thing on the block. Back then it usually involved any of the following strategies, depending of course on the size and budget of the business: print advertisements in newspapers, TV and radio commercials, print media (flyers, posters, direct mail postcards, etc.), word-of-mouth advertising and business networking, or any combination thereof. It was a time when marketing was a bit more personal, more concrete, but also limited. Then computers and the World Wide Web came into the equation, and things suddenly got just a bit more complicated, businesses had farther reach, and the world didn’t seem so big for a small business anymore.
And when you take into consideration all the advantages and perks all the social media sites can offer individually, you can start to get a better grasp of just how Facebook, Twitter, and all the other social media networks have revolutionized branding. Twitter, for example, introduced the term “trending”, wherein people from all over the world can talk of the same topics at the same moment. If that topic just so happens to be something relating to your brand, then that means you’d have thousands to millions of people feeding the buzz surrounding your business and possibly drum up better sales than ever. Pinterest and Instagram have pictures, YouTube makes use of videos, Facebook uses chats, wall posts, and contests, and these are just some of the more popular ones!
Doing it with Facebook.
- Leave nothing blank. People spend time looking through a Facebook page when they can see that there are something interesting things for them to check out or when they are looking for particular pieces of information about you and your business. That being said, it is important for you to fill out our page and profile completely, if only to look more professional. Simplest example? Getting a formal but memorable cover photo. That’s elementary Facebook marketing.
- Know the difference between Facebook personal accounts, fan pages, and groups. Obviously, there are major differences between these three, and the simplest explanation would be that each provides a different kind of interaction, or experience if you will, to your Facebook audience. It’s the difference between having close friends, club mates, and secret admirers, so guess which is which. That way, you would know the best way to optimize the use of your pages.
- Post often, post smartly. Repetition, repetition, repetition. That’s the most foolproof method of embedding your brand name into the minds of your Facebook audience and would-be customers. Not that this means that you should just post the same stuff over and over again, but that you regularly post relevant content that people will learn to associate your business name with something fun and interesting. DON’T spam.
- Paid advertising. Yes, paying for ads is actually an option, but determining whether you would benefit from availing of them is purely your responsibility as the business owner. After all, it is perfectly possible to succeed in Facebook marketing without having to shell out any money, but at the same time it is possible that you need to spend a certain amount in order to earn even more. You be the judge.
In conclusion, social media is an awesome strategy for running and marketing your business. Never forget, though, that it is only one among many, and don’t be trapped into thinking that you cannot promote your brand without the use of Facebook. After all, people back in the day managed quite fine.
