Some people believe that advertising on Facebook is easy while others think it is hard and tedious. If you already know how to navigate your way around Facebook, chances are you will find advertising your brand simple and fun. If participating on a social media site is completely new to you, then it will take some time to feel comfortable with the site. The simple fact is, experienced or not, marketing your brand on Facebook takes a bit of legwork.
Let's take a look at three very important advertising myths about Facebook that are often mistaken for fact:
MYTH: If you build a fan page, they will come. One of the biggest myths that companies new to Facebook marketing believe is that once they get their fan page up and running, people will naturally flock to it. On the contrary. The real-and hard-work in Facebook marketing happens after you build a fan page.
Putting up a fan page is very simple. All you need to do is fill out a template with important information like your company website, address and contact info; then upload a photo or company logo. To grow your fan base with your fan page, you need Facebook users to visit your page and hit the "like" button. This isn't likely to happen if you put your page up then leave it to run itself.
You can gain more fans and followers by advertising your Facebook page. Link your website to your fan page and vice versa. Encourage business employees to add a link to your Facebook page to their e-mail signatures. Linking your Facebook page on Twitter and in your blog helps to build awareness, too. You can also gain more fans by posting a targeted ad or by suggesting that your Facebook contacts "like" your fan page.
MYTH: Fans will start a discussion if they like my brand. Usually fans won't start talking about a product until they have something to talk about. The best way to get your fans talking is by staying active on your page. You can start conversations by asking questions, getting input on certain products, posting updates or adding photos and videos to your page. You can offer gifts or samples to encourage people to be more active on your page. You can even have a contest and by advertising this contest you will encourage more people to participate by "liking" your page.
MYTH: What people say about my brand on Facebook doesn't matter. Many brick-and-mortar companies, not understanding the power of social media, shrug off the complaints that they come across on social network sites such as Facebook, dismissing these as just chatter. What these companies fail to realize is that on Facebook, everyone has a voice and that anything posted by a Facebook user will be seen by hundreds of friends. These complainers may not be celebrities and they may not matter to your brand, but their opinion of you will be seen by hundreds of their friends. What they say will influence their friends' idea about a brand, person, or entity. That in itself is a form of company advertising on Facebook -- only negative. The lesson? Listen to what your fans have to say, and do something about it.
Just as you would need to take care of your offline relationships, you also need to take care of your online relationships with your followers. Listen to what they have to say, communicate with them, get to know them better. Pick their minds, ask for feedback on a product to get ideas of ways to maybe improve the item. Marketing on Facebook can do wonderful things for your brand; it does take effort, work and consistency to reap the rewards.
Let's take a look at three very important advertising myths about Facebook that are often mistaken for fact:
MYTH: If you build a fan page, they will come. One of the biggest myths that companies new to Facebook marketing believe is that once they get their fan page up and running, people will naturally flock to it. On the contrary. The real-and hard-work in Facebook marketing happens after you build a fan page.
Putting up a fan page is very simple. All you need to do is fill out a template with important information like your company website, address and contact info; then upload a photo or company logo. To grow your fan base with your fan page, you need Facebook users to visit your page and hit the "like" button. This isn't likely to happen if you put your page up then leave it to run itself.
You can gain more fans and followers by advertising your Facebook page. Link your website to your fan page and vice versa. Encourage business employees to add a link to your Facebook page to their e-mail signatures. Linking your Facebook page on Twitter and in your blog helps to build awareness, too. You can also gain more fans by posting a targeted ad or by suggesting that your Facebook contacts "like" your fan page.
MYTH: Fans will start a discussion if they like my brand. Usually fans won't start talking about a product until they have something to talk about. The best way to get your fans talking is by staying active on your page. You can start conversations by asking questions, getting input on certain products, posting updates or adding photos and videos to your page. You can offer gifts or samples to encourage people to be more active on your page. You can even have a contest and by advertising this contest you will encourage more people to participate by "liking" your page.
MYTH: What people say about my brand on Facebook doesn't matter. Many brick-and-mortar companies, not understanding the power of social media, shrug off the complaints that they come across on social network sites such as Facebook, dismissing these as just chatter. What these companies fail to realize is that on Facebook, everyone has a voice and that anything posted by a Facebook user will be seen by hundreds of friends. These complainers may not be celebrities and they may not matter to your brand, but their opinion of you will be seen by hundreds of their friends. What they say will influence their friends' idea about a brand, person, or entity. That in itself is a form of company advertising on Facebook -- only negative. The lesson? Listen to what your fans have to say, and do something about it.
Just as you would need to take care of your offline relationships, you also need to take care of your online relationships with your followers. Listen to what they have to say, communicate with them, get to know them better. Pick their minds, ask for feedback on a product to get ideas of ways to maybe improve the item. Marketing on Facebook can do wonderful things for your brand; it does take effort, work and consistency to reap the rewards.
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Learn how to make money with facebook by using your social network to drive traffic to your site.. Check here for free reprint license: 3 Advertising Myths of Facebook.
