N. Todd Wickersty, Business Bullpen01.20.11
Does your organization have a Facebook page yet? If not, then what are you waiting for?
More than 500 million people are on Facebook. One out of every four page views is from Facebook. 200 million users access Facebook on their mobile device.*
Those numbers are staggering. If your organization has not started a Facebook page, then now is the time because almost every one of your customers is using it.
Maybe you have shied away from Facebook because of privacy concerns or it could cause your professional and personal lives to collide and you would rather keep them separate. Those are valid concerns, but they are only hurdles that you should overcome because the opportunity to engage with your customers and potential customers is too great to pass up.
The first step in launching a Facebook page is determining what to put on it. The easiest thing to do is repurpose content from your blog or news announcement section of your website, and that is fine to get started. However, I don't recommend using a Facebook application to automatically post links to these articles on your website. Often times the automated posts don't convey everything about the article. They don't provide enough of a teaser to get the audience to click the link to read your article, and that's the goal. Therefore, I recommend manually posting links to your blog posts and news announcements with a short teaser. You will be able to craft a better message in the teaser than any automated tool, which will increase the probability of your audience clicking that link.
You should update your page at least once a week with content.With so much information on the web and pumping through Facebook, you need to be consistent in posting content. Your Facebook fans might not read every post or look at your photo gallery, but they will see your logo in their news feed once a week or more. This visual reminder of your company can only help you when the time comes for when that Facebook friend is in the need for your services or products.
While repurposing content is a simple and inexpensive way to start your Facebook page, it might not get much attention depending on your line of business. This often deters many organizations after launching a page. They think launching a presence on Facebook and repurposing content is all they need to be noticed. Not the case. It takes time and creativity. You should craft custom and unique content that will attract attention. You have to remember that your organization's content on Facebook is competing with personal content. More often than not, the personal content will win the popularity contest.
In my next article, I'll follow up on generating content that should encourage more interest, engagement and response.
*Source: http://www.facebook.com/press/info.php?statisticsandhttp://weblogs.hitwise.com/heather-dougherty/2010/11/facebookcom_generates_nearly_1_1.html
About the Author
Those numbers are staggering. If your organization has not started a Facebook page, then now is the time because almost every one of your customers is using it.
Maybe you have shied away from Facebook because of privacy concerns or it could cause your professional and personal lives to collide and you would rather keep them separate. Those are valid concerns, but they are only hurdles that you should overcome because the opportunity to engage with your customers and potential customers is too great to pass up.
The first step in launching a Facebook page is determining what to put on it. The easiest thing to do is repurpose content from your blog or news announcement section of your website, and that is fine to get started. However, I don't recommend using a Facebook application to automatically post links to these articles on your website. Often times the automated posts don't convey everything about the article. They don't provide enough of a teaser to get the audience to click the link to read your article, and that's the goal. Therefore, I recommend manually posting links to your blog posts and news announcements with a short teaser. You will be able to craft a better message in the teaser than any automated tool, which will increase the probability of your audience clicking that link.
You should update your page at least once a week with content.With so much information on the web and pumping through Facebook, you need to be consistent in posting content. Your Facebook fans might not read every post or look at your photo gallery, but they will see your logo in their news feed once a week or more. This visual reminder of your company can only help you when the time comes for when that Facebook friend is in the need for your services or products.
While repurposing content is a simple and inexpensive way to start your Facebook page, it might not get much attention depending on your line of business. This often deters many organizations after launching a page. They think launching a presence on Facebook and repurposing content is all they need to be noticed. Not the case. It takes time and creativity. You should craft custom and unique content that will attract attention. You have to remember that your organization's content on Facebook is competing with personal content. More often than not, the personal content will win the popularity contest.
In my next article, I'll follow up on generating content that should encourage more interest, engagement and response.
*Source: http://www.facebook.com/press/info.php?statisticsandhttp://weblogs.hitwise.com/heather-dougherty/2010/11/facebookcom_generates_nearly_1_1.html
About the Author
N. Todd Wickersty is the founder and co-owner ofBusiness Bullpen, a web application development, design, and marketing firm in Charlottesville, VA. Before starting his own business, Todd spent most of his career helping sales and operations teams get the most out of technology at Accenture, America Online, and Musictoday. His ability to bridge the gap between business and technology has enabled him to successfully grow Business Bullpen into a web solutions firm that clients can trust and rely upon.
Todd founded the Charlottesville, VA chapter of the Social Media Club in July of 2009 and is currently serving as president. His firm worked with Facebook to help develop one of the first Facebook page applications for Live Nation/Musictoday in November 2007 as part of the official launch of Facebook pages. You can find Todd online at wick.me.