With over 800 million active users, Facebook is an essential component of any business's marketing strategy. Whether you plan to advertise on the site or not, you should at least create a free Facebook page for your business, which allows people to "Like" your business and subscribe to receive updates you post on their news feeds. This helps you get the word out about what is new in your business and increase your visibility to potential customers.
Setting up a Facebook page for your business is free and easy. Just log onto the website, choose the option to create a business page, and enter basic information about your business. You will need to select what type of business it is, enter the address, and write a descriptive paragraph about the business.
One great feature on your Facebook page is that you can upload photos of either your physical location or the things you sell. These can help customers get a better idea of what your business is like and decide whether they want to buy from you. Upload lots of photos right away, and continue adding photos to your business page on a regular basis to stay active.
Let people know you have a Facebook page for your business by telling your customers when they make a purchase and including a note to "Find us on Facebook" on your business cards. As people begin to "Like" your business page and interact with you on the page, their friends will be more likely to find out about your business through the website, which gives you more people who get connected to you.
Once you have a page and some people following it, start posting regularly to keep people updated with what is going on in your business or your industry as a whole. For example, you might want to put up a post when you have a new product available or when you are having a special sale that you think might attract customers. Try to post at least twice per week to maintain a presence on the web.
You should also check your page regularly and respond to questions and comments that people post. Many people who are too busy or shy to call you will post questions on your Facebook page, and responding to those encourages others to post as well because they know that you check the page and reply to questions.
One last way to promote your business through Facebook is to purchase targeted advertising on the site. You can select the age, gender, location, education, and other features of your target audience and have your ad display only to those people on Facebook. This allows you to get the most you can for your money.
