Photos of cute babies, a night out at the restaurant or a birthday party; status updates such as “Chilling with friends and watching a movie,”— it’s easy to see the appeal of Facebook as the World’s preeminent social media. And from a social context, it’s also not too much of a stretch to see the value of the network for the B2C community, too. But when it comes to B2B, many businesses are struggling to get to grips with understanding the value of Facebook as a sales or marketing tool. So they ignore it.
In fact, Facebook is just as important to the B2B community as it is to the B2C community and your friend Mary who updates her status five times a day.
When you cut through the buzz words and smoke and mirrors of sales and marketing—when you break it down to its basic components—you end up purely and simply with a numbers game. The wider the net, the bigger the catch.
And no one does numbers like Facebook—over one billion monthly users.
The problem is how to get your business out there—a problem that appears more daunting the less sexy your company is. After all, who wants to read a Facebook update from Derek’s Drill Bits about the latest specials.
Wait!!
How about all of Derek’s clients? How about a friend of a friend of a friend who works behind the counter of Derek’s Drill Bits and who is looking for a new supplier?
Whatever your industry, your company needs a presence on Facebook, and here are three strategies you should consider using that will help you find a place in the World’s largest networking medium.
Consider asking your employees to set up fan pages about the company (your company) they work for. The potential rewards are huge. Just imagine...ten employees, each with 100 friends who each have 100 friends of there own. We’ll stop there....with a potential reach of 100,000 people....just like that. Consult with an HR professional to find the best way of getting this strategy up and running.
Pay attention to Facebook’s timeline feature. The recent upgrade to Facebook’s profile is tailor made for business (of course). With the ability to post larger hi-resolution images than with the previous profile, together with the capability of recording company milestones, you can showcase the history of your brand like never before.
Connect the dots. Whatever your sales and marketing messages, and wherever they are communicated—blogs, website content, sales letters—make sure that everything is also recorded and linked to on Facebook. Make your company’s Facebook come alive by utilizing the services of a professional Internet marketing company.
We are at the beginning of a social media revolution. No one knows where it is going to lead us, but with all other advertising mediums shrinking before our eyes, there’s no doubt that social media is going to play a major role in B2B communications from now on.
