Harness the Power of Facebook

In order to conceptualize how Facebook can be used as a marketing tool, it is important to understand some of its key components: profiles, "the wall", the news-feed, status messages, groups, pages, applications, advertising opportunities, and privacy concerns. Each of these can be used as a tool to spread the word about your business.

Build Your Profile

The profile is the centerpiece of who you are as an individual or as a business. It's your proclamation to the world to let them know what you want them to know about you. We'll discuss privacy later, but your profile is only viewable by the people or networks you chose to give access. Your friends and colleagues will visit your profile more often than you might think, so use it wisely. Many entrepreneurs and business professionals will post more than simply that they are the CEO of XYZ. They will use it to create an interest in the product or service they provide to viewers.

Use the Wall

Anybody who you have chosen to be a friend on Facebook will be able to write comments on your wall. You, in turn, have the ability to write on other people's walls. As a result of the popularity of Facebook, it is sometimes faster to find a contact there than searching through old contact databases. As the founder of an IT company, many of my old friends will find me through Facebook and ask for computer repair through that channel. In addition, Facebook is regarded as one of the fastest communication tools.

Review the News Feed

With your permission, anything you do on Facebook will be broadcasted to your entire social network. For example, if you chose to become a fan of Microsoft Windows, all of your friends will be able to see that when they look at their news feed. In return, if you can get your employees and friends to become a fan of your business, the viral impact of all of their friends seeing that they became a fan will cause some of them to also become fans. This can provide another opportunity to put your brand in front of wider audiences.

Write Status Messages

Facebook (and other social networks like Twitter) are making short status messages the cornerstone of instant news. Whether you are looking at your news feed, your wall, your friends list, your chat window, the piece of information that always catches your eye first is the status message. As the CEO of a company, your friends and employees will naturally be interested in what you have to say.

Many entrepreneurs use the status message as a way to get their PR messages out faster, to inform people about blog articles they have written, to ask for referrals, or simply to stand up for political or social issues.

Create Fan Pages