Facebook for business.
Facebook, originally launched in 2004 as a networking platform predominately targeted at American college campus communities as tool to enable students and staff to get to know each other.
In 2008 Facebook claimed over 123.9 million unique visitors ( source Wikipedia ) for the month of May 2008. As a networking platform it has proved more popular in the UK than in the United States. To put these numbers in perspective it is suggested that the internet comprises of around 650 Million active users with suggests that at any moment at least 10% of the internet are swapping pokes and wall messages on
There are several methods to promote your business to the Facebook community a few which are currently popular are listed below.
Pages
Pages were response to users whom were already creating facebook groups to identify areas of interest preference for a particular idea. Whilst much of facebook is protected behind a login the Page is searchable by Google.
Pages were introduced to allow businesses to create a corporate identity which can track views and ad-spending. A Facebook user can create one or many pages and track the Fans ( members ) , visits, page views and promotion of the Page.
You can add the Page application through the application manager of Facebook and then create a new page. When you first create a page it will not be available to the public available until you publish it. You can invite other Facebook users to become fans and in doing so there friends will see them join. Fans of pages can be contacted via email directly from the Page update mechanism. Links can be included as well as forums and wall spaces for conversation.
Pages in Facebook can be promoted by sharing notes about the page or by paid advertising.
Since the Pages are free to setup and create value in terms of Social and Search optmisation its an opportunity to all brands, business and products to create a space in social media.
Advertising
Facebook Social Ads allow you to create Pay per Click or Pay per View adverts. You can target those adverts by gender, location , interests , age range and further options. In targeting those adverts Facebook will inform you how many potential users your advert will attract. Adverts can be linked to websites or to Pages.
Application Development
The Facebook platform allows applications to be developed and run within the Facebook network. These applications will allow you to collect information about the users as well as encouraging users to share the application with friends within their own networks. Applications vary on Facebook from the pointless to the poignant many companies are still finding the fit between their online presence and a Facebook users needs.
