MasseyMedia, Inc.

Facebook has grown from a site used only by college students to the largest social network in the world. Currently, Facebook has 750 million users. That‘s 1 in 9 people on earth. Facebook accounts for 90% of time spent social networking, and the Facebook Newsfeed accounts for 4% of ALL time spent online.

Most people use Facebook to connect with friends, both old and new. With user-friendly photo sharing tools and an interactive News Feed, Facebook is a great way to see what your friends from high school are up to these days, or to connect with someone you just met.

But Facebook isn‘t all fun and games. It can be a powerful tool for launching a new business, growing a fan base, promoting new products, and interacting with clients. When used appropriately, Facebook can help build a prominent brand for your company by establishing and developing a strong online presence.

With stats like these, why are small businesses still shying away from Facebook? For one, it can be overwhelming. Friend, like, post, chat, message, profile, page…with so many different terms, users can become overloaded. For business owners, it can be hard to justify spending the time necessary to build and update a Facebook page, as well as grow a follower base. However, whether or not you‘re on Facebook, your customers are. To provide current information about your company and manage customer service, you must join them.

To prevent feeling overwhelmed, here are some tips to keep in mind:

• Set a timer. Know exactly how much time you want to invest into your Facebook page. Otherwise, you might end up spending a lot of time without being very productive or producing results.
• Create a Page, not a profile. A profile is for a person, a Page is for a business, product, etc. When you add customers to your own profile, you‘re missing out on a valuable opportunity to develop a strong brand for your business through Facebook, since people may associate your services with you as a person instead of your company.
• When all else fails, ask for help. There are lots of articles available online to help you through this process. Media companies can also offer assistance through social media strategies, origination, and management.

Don‘t forget, while social media is a powerful tool that can be crucial to growing a business and developing a client base, it can also be a lot of fun. Whoever said you can‘t mix work and play? Happy Socializing!