OK so I'll tell you whats hacking me off today!! There seems to be a big whinge-fest centred around FaceBook of late.

You've heard the hype "Facebook is going down beacuse News Feed is a little more restricted with the latest update." Marketing gurus (a few of them anyway) have even had the audacity to CLAIM there's no benefit to having a Facebook Business Page.

I am not one of those... I'm guessing you can tell, but just sticking my flagpole in the sand here.

Not only is it ABSOLUTELY necessary, but I'd even argue (depending on sector and target demographic) it may well be the front-runner in terms of social media platform upon which to build your online presence. There really is no reason not to be there.

"So Corinna" I hear you say, "What are the plusses of having said Business Page, hmmm?"

WELL.... of the plethora that surface in my "Digital Socialite" mind here's just three for you "off the cuff" shall we say?

1. It's where your Customers Are.

With over a billion users (thats BILLION BTW) I would argue that ANY business sector CAN find customers on this platform. A challenge that I often relish in undertaking and am yet to be proved wrong (Bring it on! ;)

1. It's a Veritable Pool of Leads

Thou shalt not live on email marketing alone. Collecting page "Likes" alone is not the goal here. Not in the long run anyways. But Facebook is a fantastic source for starting a conversation with a prospect that can continue outside of Facebook. Savvy businesses are offering beneficial content that offers people the option of leaving their email address to continue the conversation. If you can demonstrate that what you're talking about has tangible benefit, they WILL want to continue engaging with you. And whatever industry your in, service or product, your raison d'etre in existing as a business is to provide people with something they want right? (And if not, why are you IN business??) So splinter this product to provide a little helpful knowledge upfront. Or at the very least some form of potential benefit, via. contest, intrigue or entertainment.

3.Low Cost Barrier to Entry

How much exactly... well I'll tell you how much... precisely NIL pounds!!

If you'd like to, obviously you could pay a digital imagery virtuoso to produce an excellent profile picture and cover photo. Probably not a bad idea actually. Rob, do you know of any good designers you can think of that might be hanging around lately? [R.W. None spring immediately to mind Corinna I'm afraid...] Oh well, hey-ho!! But if you CAN find an excellent creative and affordable designer, its something of a no-brainer to have a professional cast their eye over your brand image. But the point is you don't HAVE to. And your Business FaceBook Page can be a living, evolving entity... so get one up RIGHT now and look at the graphic design costs next month if need be.

Further to this there's the option to "Boost Posts", run "Sponsored Stories" or even just collect more pixellated thumbs ups in the form of "Page Likes". But these options are part of a paid for service as they actively DRIVE traffic to your page / post / story. Its not a question of will they come.. they WILL or you don't pay its that simple. And the advantage over traditional media advertising like TV, radio or traditional print media, BEYOND the fact that you only pay for the people who visit or take an action you specify

And besides, pound for pound, when you're talking reach & conversion, its phenomenally less expensive than traditional media, with the added bonus you can flick it off and on at the touch of a button. (You try recalling a Business Newpaper run once it's gone to press because you made a type-oh regarding your advertised communicatiom skills.... ha! That actually happened BTW, but hey thats another story;)

Speak soon

Corinna

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