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Tim Lorang Blog

How Do You Use Facebook for Business?

Posted by Timothy Lorang on Mon, Jun 20, 2011 @ 11:00 AM

Renault Like FacebookLast week my blog Does Social Media Marketing on Facebook Increase Business? generated a few comments in the LinkedIn discussion group Facebook & Twitter For Business. Is Facebook more useful as a means of promoting your business or can you actually get paying customers in the door with Facebook? Is it more appropriate for B2C, business-to-customer, or can B2B, business-to-business, companies use it? What are some ways companies are using Facebook for business?

One question was how do you know if customers are even responding to what you are doing on Facebook? Elizabeth Kokkonen of Toolbox Strategies shared this great article on how Renault adds real-time Likes with RFID Facebook Cards. At the Amsterdam Motor Show Renault offered fans the chance to make RFID, radio-frequency identification, cards with their Facebook information. Then each Renault display had a Facebook ‘pillar’ where the fan could swipe their card and automatically “Like” their favorite car. Their Facebook “Likes” were instantly posted and Renault got a lot of new impressions and buzz on Facebook. Take a look at how it worked with the video below.

The thing that Renault did was make it very easy for their fans to “Like” them. But it was a bit expensive to set up the pillars and make the RFID cards. Most businesses do not have those types of resources. Besides, social media is supposed to be less expensive than traditional marketing. What are some of the things that you can do to make it easier for people to “Like” your Facebook for business? We covered a few things last week in Five Ways to Promote Events on Facebook but here is a quick list of some other things you can do.

  1. Make It Easy Find Your Facebook Business: When people are on your web page make it easy to find your Facebook Icon with a clear link to your Facebook Page.
  2. Use the “Like” Button: Does every webpage and blog have a “Like” button? If your website doesn’t already have a like button go to the Facebook Developers Like Button page and install one now.
  3. Remind Your Customers: Let them know that you have a Facebook Business page. Put it on your business card, on the menu and on signs in your place of business. Ask people to “Like” your Facebook business page.
  4. Claim your Facebook Place: If you haven’t claimed yours yet download this handy PDF guide for claiming your Facebook Places.
  5.  Use Facebook Places “Deals”: Reward individuals, groups and loyal customers who check in. Be sure to let everyone know about the deals such as after their tenth Facebook Places check in they will get a free latte. Here is your Complete Business Guide To Facebook Deals from the All Facebook website.

I would like to hear how you promote and use Facebook for business. Are you using Places and Deals? Are you using special Facebook promotions? Do you use events? Have you staged a special promotion? Let me know in the comments section below and give us a link to your Facebook Page. If you would like to know more about how Image Media Partners works with social media and inbound marketing, request a no-obligation social media analysis of your website.

Photo Credit: Trendwatching.com

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Topics: Social Media, Business