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01/10/2011 Authored by: Jeremy Girard
Success on Facebook Requires More Than Just Showing Up
It seems like everyone has a Facebook page these days. Just a few weeks ago, at Thanksgiving dinner, I listened in bemusement as grandmothers and grandchildren from my family collectively discussed their Facebook pages over plates of turkey and piles of potatoes. Yeah, Grandma is on Facebook.
With so much attention centered on social networking, it’s not surprising that many Envision clients have started asking us how they can “use Facebook to benefit their business.” It’s also not surprising that numerous companies have sprung up offering ‘Social Media Marketing’ services to businesses, claiming that amazing results will be achieved simply by creating a Facebook page and adding a little Facebook icon to your Web site.
Sorry to rain on the parade, but it’s not that easy.
At Envision, we have been offering Traffic Generation services for over a decade. One of the solutions we offer is, indeed, Social Media Marketing using tools like Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube and, of course, Facebook. One of the key lessons we have learned as we work with the various social networks is that, to succeed, you must do more than just show up. Simply creating a Facebook page is not enough and companies who are promising to “get your business on Facebook” are only giving your part of what you need to get the job done.
The Facebook Secret
Here’s a truth that few companies will tell you – creating a Facebook page for your business is easy. You can do it yourself. The hard part is assembling a plan on how you will use that page.
Simply being on Facebook does not mean you have a plan to effectively use social networking for your business any more than having a pair of snow boots makes you an Arctic explorer. If you want to get the results, you need to do some work – you need to ‘be social.’
Consider the term ‘Social Networks’ for a minute. By the very name, you can see that these are sites where you must engage with others – where you must be social. Simply putting a page up with your company’s logo and expecting users to flock to your profile is wishful thinking.
If you want people to notice your profile and your business on Facebook (or any social network), you need stop simply broadcasting your message and you instead need to join the conversation already in progress.
Welcome to the Party
Think about social networking like a cocktail party. If you show up at the party, stand as tall as you can and start shouting to the room, you are unlikely to get your message heard. People may hear that you are speaking, but your boorish behavior will, at best, cause people to ignore you or, at worst, annoy them to the point of asking you to leave.
That is not being social. That is being an ass.
A better approach is to enter the party and join the conversations around you. Finding people talking about topics that you are interested in and to which you can contribute is a much more effective way of getting your message out there.
Facebook is no different than this cocktail party. If you create a profile (enter the party) and simply start posting press releases and new items about your business (shouting to the room/being an ass), you will be ignored. If you instead find others that are already using Facebook and contribute to the conversations they are already engaged in, you have a much better chance of winning some new ‘friends’.
Success Requires a Plan
There are many organizations using Facebook and other social networking sites very effectively to grow their business. The one thing all these groups all have in common is that they had a plan on how they would use those sites to further their online goals, a plan that went much further than simply ‘getting onto Facebook.’
As business consultants and Web professionals, Envision can help you identity what social networks are a fit for your business and we can establish a plan for you to use those networks effectively. Contact us today to get started.
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