Why You Should Be Using Facebook In Your Business (Whatever You Do For A Living!)

Facebook presents a massive marketing opportunity for all businesses, whether they are online already or a conventional 'bricks and mortar' business.

Image: poqstudio

In spite of Facebook's massive success, I still meet many smaller businesses who say things to me like:

'It's just for kids isn't it?'

'What about all the privacy issues?'

'I can't afford it'

'It won't work with my business'

'It's too technical for me!'

The truth is that none of those statements is correct.

Source: http://newsroom.fb.com/Key-Facts

Facebook is extremely easy to use - if you can create an eBay listing then you have all the technical skills required to use it successfully for business.

So, in simple terms, if you can write and format text and you know how to browse to an image and upload it to a web site, then you already have the core skills required to make the most of Facebook.

It is true that Facebook still has a young demographic, but these are credit card holders and not 'kids' (i.e. school age) as many people believe.

Business Insider reports 'the 45-to-54-year-old age bracket has seen 46% growth since year-end 2012', and the key aim for anybody in business is that they are able to target prospects who have money to spend ie they have a disposable income.

Source: http://newsroom.fb.com/Safety-and-Privacy

Other objections such as cost (Facebook is free) and privacy issues (you can remain very private on Facebook if you know how to use it properly) fade into insignificance when considering the potential business opportunity of being able to target over 1 billion people worldwide.

Facebook will work for any business in any Geographical location that it serves, so even if you're a small store serving a local community, Facebook's laser targeted precision will allow you to communicate with your prospects in a very small area.

So, having overcome some of the key objections about using Facebook, what are the immediate advantages?

It surprises me that many Facebook commentators don't make more of some of the very big, immediate and obvious benefits of having a business on Facebook.

Big Advantage 1: Being on Facebook means that your business immediately has an optimised presence on mobile devices with zero expense.

Wait until you get a quotation to mobile optimise your existing web site - with Facebook you can be mobile optimised and ready to go in the next 5 minutes and at no cost.

Big Advantage 2: Being on Facebook gives you instant SEO.

Because Facebook is currently the 2nd most popular site in the web universe, having a business page properly key worded on the platform can race you to the top of Google's listings much faster than years of back-linking, search engine optimisation and keyword research can.

And it comes at a fraction of the cost of getting SEO experts in too!

Source: http://www.alexa.com/topsites

By carefully selecting your unique URL on Facebook, and then properly completing the 'About' sections for your business page, you can quite literally rocket to the top of the search engine listings, flying past the blog or web site that you've spent so many years - and so much expense - optimising.

So, that's just a Facebook taster if you're still resisting it as a platform your business.

Facebook is extremely powerful and like everything in life, once you know how to use it properly, it can be an extremely effective ally.

Why Facebook Won't 'Do A MySpace' Any Time Soon

One of the concerns I hear from small businesses is that they worry about Facebook 'disappearing' if they commit time and resources to the platform.

The most-used example of this is the Myspace site which enjoyed massive popularity between 2005-2008 (see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Myspace) but which was then devoured swiftly and without mercy by Facebook when it arrived on the scene.

 

Source: https://myspace.com/

This is an understandable and reasonable fear to have, but Facebook has been very clever in its approach and there are a number of very good reasons why it can't and won't 'do a Myspace' any time soon.
The simple fact of the matter is that Facebook is everywhere these days, completely woven into the fabric of our everyday lives.

It's become a bit of a hobby of mine in recent times to chart this all pervasive crawl across the fabric of everyday life, and I chart it in one of my Pinterest boards.

Here are a few visual examples:



Facebook has managed to find a way into all corners of our lives, to the extent that we accept it and even expect it now.

When did you last see a film advertised without a Facebook page?

When did you last see a big brand campaign on TV without the now inevitable Facebook URL helping to drive viral traffic?

How long is it going to take to remove Facebook from logos, blogs, liveries and promo items?

The fact is that Facebook is everywhere... and it's going to take some shifting!

In an absolute master stroke, Facebook has gone one better than this.

Not only do we place their logo in prominent positions all over our businesses, we even quite happily send back links to their web site to ensure that it stays in a top ranking position by using their social and sharing plugins.

And we rush to do this, because we know that it brings wonderful advantages to our own businesses.

So the next time that you find yourself jittery about investing time and resources into Facebook marketing, bear in mind what a powerful foundation that they have built for their business.

Sure, Facebook won't be around forever, something will come along eventually to remove it from its perch.

But be mindful that it's extremely unlikely to come in the form of a massive crash, each and every time you see a promo back to Facebook, that's one of many lifelines that will keep it in its elevated position for some time to come.