facebook-cubeThe influence of social media on business marketing is undeniable, and is a marketing strategy that should be utilized by all businesses looking to expand their market and recognition. Social media websites like Facebook have increasingly been helping businesses of every size reach their target audience and entice others as well. The great thing about Facebook is that it is free to set up, and relatively easy to use. Here are six great tips to increase the marketing effectiveness of your business’ Facebook page.

The most basic step for your business is ensuring the Facebook page gets the resources it needs. While social media for personal use is easy and requires as much or as little work as you want, the game changes dramatically for businesses. The interface is easy to use, but requires a lot of time. The page should be used to attract new customers and maintain a constant consumer base. In order to do this, there should be a dedicated amount of time per week for posting new and relevant media, and also answering questions and reading user comments.

This leads right to the second tip: read your comments! The customers will post everything that is going right or wrong with a business in their eyes. Use this free information to improve on problems, like “spamming,” or unpredictable updating, instead of wasting time and money surveying focus groups. Users can post small problems like dissatisfaction with a product or customer service, to larger problems like business image and marketability.

If this is a sole proprietorship, make sure that you include a picture of yourself, your hobbies, and make a profile that is real and relates to a large group of people. Businesses with multiple employees should create a page that highlight’s the company’s logo and business motto, and also include links to the Facebook pages of their major players like CEOs or General Managers. If there is one thing we know about the human race is that we are curious! Use this to your advantage and give the people what they want: an insider look at who is running the company. A personal connection to the business is a huge advantage that should be used by every company (regardless of size).

Every business has something to offer their customers, so create contests and prize drawings for free products, coupons or discounts. A simple way to market the promotion on social media is by creating a status explaining the rules. For example, “Like” our page and automatically get entered to win a coupon for a free coffee! These promotions encourage people to enter because they are easy. It also promotes your business because it automatically posts that “[so-and-so] likes [such a business]” on every participating person’s wall.

Facebook has a new tool that allows businesses to schedule when a particular message or post is going to be broadcasted. This means a business could plan their posts for an entire week in one day instead of having to log in at the same time every day. This kind of consistency appeals to consumers because they know where and when to look for your updates.

The final tip is using visual marketing tools in a smart and effective way. Instead of posting one status after another, create a virtual poster that has pictures and colors to display the same message. If the business has video demonstrations or is featured on television, post it to the wall! And of course, the most important marketing tool is having a capturing logo that is easily recognizable and visually appealing.

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