Facebook and Brands: A Match Made in Social Media Heaven
It’s the year 2012, and Facebook has acquired nearly 901 million users worldwide. That means that if Facebook users made their own country, they would be the third largest in the world! According to Search Engine Journal, users upload nearly 250 million photos, click the “Like” button 2.7 billion times, and spend roughly 20 minutes per visit every day on the site. As a brand, there is endless potential to reach current customers and their friends when your content is shared, liked and commented on. With so much user activity, it’s no wonder brands are spending a lot of time and money on their social media efforts. In an age where social media rules, Facebook helps businesses promote their brand more effectively by encouraging interaction with users – something that has become a must. Let’s take a look at a couple of different things Facebook is doing to make the site more brand-friendly.
Page Features
Many brands think that committing to a Facebook page will be too tedious of a task; however Facebook recently announced a few new features that businesses can use to help make managing their profile page easier once you get it set up. One new feature allows you to schedule future posts. Up until now, the only way to schedule a post was through a third-party application. Now you simply just click the clock icon in the status box and you can schedule a post, photo, or video up to six months in advance. Also, businesses can now pay a fee to have a post promoted. This means that the post will be shown in news feeds of the people who “Like” your page as well as anyone they are friends with, even if they haven’t “Liked” your page. Finally, businesses can now assign administrative roles to the people who help manage the page. There are five different roles you can potentially assign: manager, content creator, moderator, advertiser and insights analyst. All of these are added benefits to helping manage your page and maximize your exposure.
Display Advertising
If you’re thinking about advertising online, Facebook has to be one of the first considerations. It is the number one publisher of display advertisements, larger than Yahoo, Microsoft, Google, and AOL combined. Also, more than one million different websites are integrated into Facebook, making it the go-to site for consumers seeking ease and accessibility. Display advertising on Facebook can be extremely efficient due to the fact that it lets you specifically select your target audience by customizing important location, demographic and user interest information in order to ensure you reach the right people. Your ad will be shown regardless of what Facebook page they are viewing, which means greater exposure to those who will actually be interested in your brand.
Sum up
In today’s social media obsessed world, the question isn’t why you need Facebook; it’s why in the world aren’t you already on Facebook? Although your brand’s Facebook page is essentially a professional profile page, it should be treated as more of a social tool than if it were simply your regular website. Users and fans alike are able to ask questions, interact with content, see photos from behind-the-scenes, and watch cool videos related to your brand. Show fans a different and more interactive side of your business and Facebook will no doubt be a contributing factor to your success.
Contributed By: Nicole Juliano