How to Use Facebook for a Small Business

Learning to use Facebook for small businesses is now pretty much mandatory. Using this social networking site can help you learn about leads that you have, increase the traffic that you get to your website, also just widen your reach as a business. Most business owners, though always tend to make a few critical errors while using this website. We tell you the optimal way of using Facebook for business to create an advantageous situation for you.

Using Facebook for Small Businesses

So, how do you go about using Facebook to improve the standing of your business enterprise? Well, it is important for you to create a profile specifically for your business. Remember that this account is different from the account that you have for your personal use. To create a business account on Facebook, you need to give out your personal details to comply by the terms and conditions of the site. It is important that you go through all the rules that the site has about business accounts. Once you have the account active, you need to start managing the profile well.

In order to manage a Facebook profile for a business organization, one of the key things is the installation of appropriate applications that will allow you to stream the feeds and content from your blog and other sites to Facebook. Ensure though that there is not too much information that is being streamed to your profile, as you do not want to overwhelm your followers. Ensure that any personal information on the profile remains private and is not shared with everyone. It may also be advisable to define your friend lists and categorize them. Something that many people tend to forget is to constantly working on the reinforcement of the brand. If you have any photos on the profile, then ensure that these work towards the betterment of the business. If your business has a newsletter, then it may be a good idea to have subscription information added.

There are many other things that you can do in order to improve your business prospects. Try to obtain what is known as vanity URL. This will make it much easier for clients to locate you. It is of utmost importance that you place your Facebook id on your business cards and any other marketing paraphernalia that you are distributing. Use your Facebook wall to post updates about your business. Share any important article that has been published about you or post links to presentations and resources that may be of help to customers. Upload your email contacts to find connections and more people on Facebook. Using the search facilities that they provide you can search for past clients. You could also contact someone of repute in the industry and invite them to blog as a guest on your website and then post links. This could add a bit of authenticity to your profile. You can also use Facebook ads, which will allow you to target a relevant audience.

Other things that you can use to advertise your business on Facebook is to start a group or a page which has links to the company website, subscription information to newsletters, information about any upcoming events that you are hosting, etc. It is important that you keep updating this page and that you answer any queries that fans and followers put up. Remember that for a business profile on a networking site, you need to brand the same. You are trying to create an image for your business and that is your primary task. Try not to over-clutter the profile with information but at the same, do not be sporadic about updates. Regular updates are as important for building solid base of followers.

Learning to use Facebook for a small business can help in a number of ways by creating a brand out of tiny enterprise. It is important though, that you use this social networking site well and optimally as it can as easily backfire.