The Beginner's Guide To Facebook For Business, Part 1: 7 Reasons To Have A Facebook Business Page

Facebook has recently been valued at $50 Billion. That's a '5' with a whopping 10 zeros at the end!

The question is: What Exactly Makes Facebook So Valuable?

In the case of Facebook, the answer is not completely straight forward. But these are a few indicators: 

• Facebook is the second most visited website in the world today (only topped by Google, and with You Tube catching up rapidly in third position)
• Facebook has around 500 Mio users to date, and if Facebook was a country it would be the 3rd largest in the world only dwarfed by India and China!
• 50% of all Facebook users log in every day!

Ok, so these stats are truly mind-boggling, but what does this mean for you as a business owner? Firstly, despite the fact that Google is still the world's leading website in terms of visitors, people actually spend a lot more time on Facebook than on Google. Their frame of mind is different when they are on Facebook, too. They are much more relaxed, because it's where they 'hang out', connect with friends and chat. In this state of mind, they are much more likely to buy!

But there's more...

More and more people use Facebook as a referral system. This is a post from my home page from just a few moments ago: "Can anybody recommend a good reliable plumber in the inner west? please." This post attracted 5 comments and recommendations in just 14 hours! In another scenario, a happy customer might leave a positive comment on your page for hundreds or even thousands of potential customers to see. Some of these might take this as a clue to go and check out your website!

These 'referrals' are very powerful, and break down a lot of barriers between a potential customer and an actual Sale.

In terms of your website this means that people who come to your site from Facebook are highly likely to come with a real or implied recommendation, and are much more likely to buy!

Apart from creating stronger relationships with your clients, getting more exposure and thereby more traffic to your website, there are some very tangible reasons why you must be represented on Facebook today:

1. It drives traffic to your website.

2. It helps rank your own website in the search engines.

3. It gives you access to millions of people.

4. It's viral (I'll explain that in an upcoming article).

5. It's FREE, and easy to use.

6. It gives you a platform to interact with current and prospective buyers.

7. It provides powerful back links to your website (again, I'll talk about that in another article).

The Bottom Line: If your business is not represented on Facebook, then you are missing out on real profits.

And if you are not creating those powerful relationships with the social media crowd today, then somebody else will! And they will take your customers and clients.

On the other hand, if you do get started on Social Media you will attract more customers easier than ever before and significantly reduce your customer acquisition costs.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/5779674

Facebook Tips For Beginners

Using Facebook for marketing purposes is something that all individuals and businesses should consider. Initially, many people ignored Facebook in order to concentrate their efforts on other social networking sites. Now, with Facebook becoming available to more people with restrictions bands, businesses, and individuals are hurrying to create free accounts on Facebook and using these accounts to help market their product, service, or organization.

If you are ready to try and use Facebook as a promotional tool the first thing you need to do is create a profile. Without having a profile it is impossible to use the site in order to promote anyone or anything. Facebook is designed to not allow non-account holders to do complete member searches or even look at member profiles. Once a profile has been set up on Facebook a business can now use the site to find users to contact and befriend.

After the new profile has been set up and a few friends have been added Facebook marketing can now begin in earnest. The note posting system is a great way to keep new friends informed and interested in an organizations profile and what they are promoting. Sponsoring a contest or hosting an event can help promote a product, service, or organization while simultaneously giving new Facebook friends something interesting to read about.

Posting pictures is another great way to get attention and feedback on facebook. Pictures help new friends put a face to the person or organization they have befriended. Great pictures to share on Facebook are photographs of any events, pictures of products (especially if they are being used) and any photograph that would interest friends and casual Facebook browsers.

While posting pictures is a good way to create a little Facebook buzz posting videos is even better. Most digital cameras and camera phones will let anyone make a short video and many computers include free video editing software. All of this can be used to create short videos that can be used to spread a message. Keeping these videos short and sweet is usually the best course of action and will increase the chances of the video being shared.

Do not be afraid to share any news articles or reviews that are related to the product or service being promoted on facebook. Search the internet regularly for articles or reviews that have been created by credible third parties, and post links to the articles in notes. It is also possible to share the entire article, just be sure to include a link to the original authors web site so that interested parties can verify that the article came from a third party source.

One of the greatest things about Facebook is that each time any action is completed it is added to the news feed. This means that all people that befriend an organizations Facebook profile are notified whenever a new picture, video, or post is added on facebook. Even if friends do not visit the main profile they are still notified of the activities of each profile they have befriended. When they are notified they are able to go directly to the new item which keeps them from having to go through a profile looking for the content that has caught their interest.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/1033138

Facebook Page Marketing for Beginners

If you run any kind of business, regardless of size or reach, it's assumed you have the bare minimum in your marketing arsenal, that being one Facebook page and one Twitter account. If you have neither, it's important by the end of the day to have them up and running, because these are probably two of the most valuable marketing tools you'll use today. They are free to use and have the potential to reach an audience larger than the population of most countries. It's been said that if Facebook were a country it would be the fourth largest in the world, and the proprietary search engine created for Twitter is used regularly to find information. The content you place here is apt to be found, all you have to do is get it there.

That said, we will focus now on the Facebook page and ways you can use this free tool to your advantage. At first glance it may appear Facebook's structural limitations won't allow you to do much beyond updating status and posting links, but if you look carefully you'll find there are ways to customize your page to give it some uniqueness that defines your destination and turns initial visitors into regular viewers and people likely to share your information.

The Main Profile Graphic should be utilized to its extent. You are allowed to use 200×600 pixels here, and you can customize a graphic that includes URLs of your main site and blogs, URLs to your Twitter or YouTube, your logo, anything you feel should be promoted there. This graphic is set to catch the eye immediately, so optimize the space.

Promotion of Other Local Pages - You'll notice on your lower left sidebar there is a place where you can highlight your page's favorite pages. This gives you the opportunity to seek out Facebook pages belonging to businesses and attractions in your area. When you visit a page you can click to add that page to your favorites listing. In turn, local businesses can return the favor. You'll find that when you promote the presences of these businesses they are likely to reciprocate. One such trick to promote a local business and your page at the same time is to mention a specific Facebook in your status updates. Choose a Facebook page you have "liked" and insert an @ sign along with the page's name, and the page will be linked in your update. When you visit the page you have linked, you'll find your post on their Wall, and visitors to that page will see it and hopefully click through to you.

Custom Tabs - Facebook tends to change policies on page design from time to time, but one constant that remains is the custom tab. By adding a certain application to your page called Static FBML, you can customize HTML and CSS code to show in tabs that appear in your top menu. Using Facebook's Developer's Guide, you can embed a video gallery or photo slideshow, you can apply a searchable directory of hotels, restaurants, or vacation rentals, you can set up an ecommerce or opt-form to collect e-mail addresses. Custom tabs are designed to enhance the functionality of your page and basically turn it into a satellite site.

Engage and Respond - If you expect growth of your fanbase, if you expect people to stay fans, you must keep the information you provide current and you must engage fans in conversation. When people post to your Wall, respond in a timely fashion. When you receive criticism, supply feedback in a tactful manner - we usually suggest you don't remove posts unless they border on extremely volatile; if you can show you handle critiques well, you stand to gain respect. If you keep your review and discussion tabs active, check them regularly. Don't let anything go stale.

Integration - When you consider how many pages and accounts people may follow in a day, if you post one thing one time it may get lost in the ether. As was mentioned before, a visitor is going to come to your site several times before making a decision, so it's important to keep your messages alive through all your networks. Your Facebook page should feed into Twitter; Your YouTube account should feed into Facebook; your blog RSS should feed into your Facebook notes application. You'll have people who may follow one account or the other, so cover your bases.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/5372371

Tips to Make Money Online for Beginners: Three Easy Steps With No "TMI"

Want to earn money online? Here's your first step to direct you in how to make money online for beginners...

... just to start you on the right track with not too much information.

Here's the "Meat and Potatoes" for Beginners...

Learning how to make money online for beginners can be a real nightmare if you're not given any direction! There are so many marketing strategies out there, and so many "sharks in the water", just ready to nail you for your next dollar to spend on online training!

What's the matter with online training?

That's not to say that you should not invest in training. Knowledge is power, but too much data with no structure will lead you in so many directions at once you'll find yourself wanting to give up in no time.

Make Money Online for Beginners Step 1: Begin with a blog.

"What in the heck is a "blog?" I asked my daughter 18 months ago. Today I'm proud to say that I've actually been able to rake in as much as a thousand dollars on a single post.

When I asked her "what's the difference between a blog and a website", and her answer was a simple "nothing", I was confused.

Hence, I'd like to explain a little bit more for your benefit, just in case you're having a much trouble as me in pulling information out of your kid. A blog is a website; however, a blog is YOUR PERSONAL WEBSITE, with your own pictures, videos, and personal beliefs.

"But I was never really "social" on websites"...

Now, I'm not talking just social medial gossip "mumbo-jumbo" here. I'm talking about a way that you can use this blog as your platform to market whatever it is you want, AND, you can market your product worldwide and post as many blog posts as you like.

What's a "blog post"?

It's a page within the blog where people can go to find answers to their questions.

For example, if you're reading this post right now, you may have gone to Google and typed in "make money online for beginners".

Make Money Online for Beginners Step 2: Promote your blog.

Once you learn a little about keyword research, and find out what people are searching for, you can simply format a post around that "keyword phrase", and submit virally through Twitter and Facebook, with a simple one-liner, "check out my latest post that tells best ways to________, and then the permalink (the link to that blog page) You can obtain the permalink by clicking the tab that says "get short link" on your blog.

"So I've promoted my blog... now what?"

Once you get going with blogging and promoting, now you've learned how to make money blogging online, and you can actually promote any product or service you want from your blog.

Real income from blogging?

The good part about income from blogging is that once you promote, the links continue to bounce around in cyberspace, and it's only a matter of time before someone clicks on your permalink, views your post, clicks on your links that lead to your capture page... and whala - you have a lead!

That's right! Collect leads while you sleep...

So, after a while, whether you roll out of bed, or just roll over in bed, the internet continues to work for you!

Make Money Online for Beginners Step 3: Follow-up with your leads.

Follow-up with leads is crucial!

It's always a good idea to follow up with your leads. Remember, most people need to be approached, on average, seven times before deciding to buy. (Seven times? OMG!) Who in the heck would ever do that?

Not me! I wouldn't approach the same person twice with my opportunity!

That's why I'm a strong advocate of an automatic email response system. Of course, in addition to the emails you would prepare to follow up immediately with your leads, you'll want some time sensitive stuff to send out on a regular basis as well, just so your leads can get the feeling that you're a real person.

Remember, people will tend to buy from those who they know, like and trust, and it's your personal emails and continuously sending them links to your personal blog that will help to get you lead to "know you" and eventually graduate from a lead to a prospect, and from a prospect to a customer.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/7542492

List Building For Beginners: 3 Tips for Building a Client List From the Ground Up

List building. For beginners, it can be hard to know what to do when building up a list from scratch. There are so many things to think about. You have to get an autoresponder, build an opt in page, drive qualified traffic to your site. It can get quite overwhelming. This article includes three tips for building a client list from the ground up.

1. Create an informative freebie.
The first thing you need to do in order to build your client list is to create an informative free gift. This gift could be a video related to a problem your target market is having. It could be an ecourse or an audio file. Whatever you choose to give away, be sure it is something that your target market will find valuable. You don't want to lose your prospect before you have had a chance to sell to them.

2. Create an eye catching opt in page.
You want your opt in page to grab people's attention. Use colors that draw people in. Don't go too crazy with the colors, however. If it hurts your eyes to look at your opt in page you might want to rethink that color combination. Also don't use wild backgrounds. A nice solid color is the best thing to use.

3. Utilize your social network.
If you are active on Facebook, Twitter, or LinkedIn share your free gift on these networks. Link to it on your home page. Every so often post about your gift in your status message. What you don't want to do is send messages to your friend's inboxes about your list. That is considered spam and will get you blocked super fast.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/6005766

3 Tips To Selling On Facebook For Beginners

If you already have your own online store but would like to expand your business influence on social media like Facebook, here are some selling on Facebook tips which you will find useful. However, please do take the time to set up your company's Facebook account properly first.

Is Your Store Ready?

Setting up an online store is pretty easy once you get hold of a reliable shopping cart software. The main thing to consider is that you need a proper store first which will act as a focus point so that when you have a Facebook store, your clients could choose to check out your actual online store for a better perspective on what you sell. While selling on Facebook seems ideal especially if you have tonnes of friends on your list, don't forget that your online store is more important as it will need to cater to those who are not on your Facebook list. So get everything created properly online first. Your store needs to be running on live.

What Do I Need To Sell On Facebook?

Lots of friends, customers and clients. If no one knows about your Facebook store, how are they going to buy anything from you unless they go direct to your online store? The idea of setting up your own Facebook store is to try and convert whatever 'likes' into people being willing to buy your products. But that is easier said than done. You may need to run a few marketing campaigns on Facebook first to encourage your current pool of contacts to 'share' about your products and store to others. Getting them to 'like' a product is just the beginning. And you need to have all your products and categories successfully posted from your online store to Facebook store. This can be done if your shopping cart provider offers it as a feature.

Keep Your Facebook Store Updated

Make it a point that you post something new once a week so that you continue to maintain a level of communication with your customers. You could new product launches, sales or interact with your customers to get their feedback on how they find your products. In short, communication is key. And don't be surprised that your customers will want to reach you faster via your Facebook. Keep your cool if there are any angry or grouchy feedback and remember to remain professional and courteous at all times.

Summary

So remember to get your own online store up and running first before starting your Facebook store. Grow your Facebook store customers by running marketing campaigns there encouraging people to 'like' and 'share' your products. Happy selling!

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/6929255

Facebook Advertising For Beginners - How to Make Money With No Experience

You may or may not have any experience with Facebook advertising. Don't worry because Facebook advertising for beginners is the main focus of this article.

Facebook ads are the ones that sit in the right upper corner of your pages and walls and if you haven't noticed, they are usually pretty targeted to your likes and interests. This is no accident.

Facebook has managed over the years to almost perfect the art of gathering people's demographic details, from age and gender to likes and dislikes.

The bright people at Facebook have developed technology that is quite similar to Google AdWords and allows you to place ads that will pop up in front of people that are predisposed to be interested in what the ads are all about.

One of the reasons that Facebook advertising for beginners is so simple is that this technology makes it easy for newbie marketers to put their ads in front of a laser targeted audience. The other advantage for people who are new to Internet marketing is the cost. Compared to Google AdWords, Facebook ads are cheap.

This might not last, so you should get in while it's still affordable.

People are still "Googling" when they search before they go on Facebook looking for things to buy. This is true. What's also true is that the average active Facebook user spends something like 50 minutes A DAY logged into Facebook. This compares to only seconds on a Google site or other web page. Do the math.

If you can target your audience, spend less money per ad and engage an audience that looks at your ad off and on for close to an hour a day, you might want to figure out how to master that strategy, right? Google ads might get you a heck of a lot more clicks per ad, but the profitability of Facebook Ads versus Google Ads is potentially huge.

So, part of Facebook advertising for beginners has to do with the fundamentals of setting up ads and learning the specifics of running a campaign. The other half of the equation is testing and analyzing the results.

Compare your costs, profits and the efficiency of a few different versions of the same campaign and the conclusions you can draw are pretty straightforward.

If your profits exceed your advertising costs, then you have a winner. Then it's just a question of acceptable profit versus time and energy spent. If Facebook advertising is producing better results than some of your other online investments of time and energy, the decision makes itself.

If you are thinking about the possibilities of Facebook advertising for beginners, I would suggest that you look into it and see for yourself. Invest some time, a little bit of money and test a couple of campaigns before you decide.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/4904057