Facebook for Small Business - Essay Example

? Table of Contents The Birth of Facebook The Internet, along with unbelievable advances in technology, has infiltrated the lives of most everyone inthe world. From shopping and dating to even attending church services, for many, the World Wide Web has become a lifestyle. The site has become so much of a success; businesses were forced to evaluate its potential as a marketing tool. In 2004, a nineteen year old computer geek published Facebook from his Harvard University dorm room. Originally called thefacebook.com, sophomore Mark Zuckerberg’s site was an instant hit. Since its debut, the social site has grown exponentially, becoming the model for many other social sites. A week after the billion dollar winner was released; three other Harvard students proclaimed thefacebook.com was a joint venture. However, by then, the ingenious internet site could not be detonated. FaceBook had become one of the largest social media sites in the world. By 2010, the site traffic was in the millions and still growing (Carlson, 2010). The United States courts would have to decide who had a right to rake in the huge profits. Until Facebook, the most sophisticated social websites were chat rooms running blogs in real time. The only personal space for users was an inbox and a small picture profile. Zuckerberg introduced a ‘wall’ concept, where users were represented in a much larger space. News feeds were added to traditional inboxes and favorites links. As the concept grew socially, naturally, businesses began to take notice. The extra room made it possible for businesses to build virtual billboards. Today, businesses capitalize on the massive connections obtained through a Facebook business page. If a 24 hour connection to billions of people around the world will build your business; climb aboard and build a Facebook business page, too. 1. Facebook for Small Business At least one billion people log on and interact through FaceBook, every day, all day, over the world. That’s over one billion reasons why your business should have a Facebook page. Everyone from recording artists to cooking gurus have packed up and moved into the world’s largest Internet community. The website continues to grow exponentially, connecting people and businesses. Even non-profit organizations have jumped on board to gain more exposure. Retailers of both products and services instantly become global by obtaining a website address and providing product, service, and contact information. In 2010, FaceBook launched the Small Business Saturday Facebook page, which pronounces the first Saturday following Thanksgiving as a special day for shoppers. Partnering with Twitter and American Express, the application was developed to draw shoppers and to polish small businesses with awesome applications and tools designed for eCommerce. The occasion is to encourage ‘small shopping’. Today, the the Small Business Saturday Page has received almost 3 million ‘likes’. Although nothing can guarantee 100% success or increased activity consistently for a long period of time, a FaceBook business page comes pretty close. Smart entrepreneurs know that capitalizing on massive Internet traffic and superior marketing tools is a formula for success. When you register your small business with FaceBook, the high traffic is already established and marketing tools are already in place to guide you. And the beauty of the entire concept is: it’s free. 2. Setting up Your Business Page Resist the urge to hire a contractor to build your Page. Building it yourself is simple and will reflect your personality, rather than that of a contractor. FaceBook Pages may be embedded with photos, videos, flash presentations and graphs, and direct links to other sites. Much like building a traditional web site, Facebook software and the help centre provide steps to build a business page that will grab the interest of many (FB, 2012). You may always revise your Page by omitting or adding items to improve appearance and make it more practical. As your business changes, so will the information on your Page. Once the Page is published, FaceBook applications will help you to improve it, promote it, and implement powerful marketing strategies. It’s time to get started! The beginning of the journey is to choose a category for the business, a name, and a picture. Next, a short explanation of who you are or the purpose of your business is coupled with your image. Finally, your business receives a web address and cover page. These simple steps can lead to a 100% increase in operating income for your business. Getting started with your Page will be easy and fun. You will simply be transferring your current business information and concepts to a site for visitors to view. FaceBook provides a step-by-step guide to business Page setups (FaceBook, 2012): Choose a Category and a Page name Pick a Logo as a Profile image. Provide a sentence explaining the business’ nature Set a web address for your Page Choose a cover photo It is likely you will choose either ‘Local Business or Place of Interest’ or ‘Company, Organization, or Institution’ for your category. One difference between the two is whether or not your business’ physical address is posted. If you choose ‘Company, Organization, or Institution’, there is no option for entering an address. ‘Local Business’ is a fair description for most small retail businesses. Once you have defined your business and added pertinent information, it’s time to choose an image. Your picture will be the first thing visitors see when visiting your Page. It is an opportunity to make a strong, positive first impression. Uploaded images should be crystal clear and have an obvious relationship with your content. Try to choose an approach that you have not seen marketed by competitors. Consider the different approaches to a logo for a Weight training business: Weight Training The style, colors, and scale make uniquely different statements about weight training. It is easy to assume these graphics were likely presented by different artists and thus different perspectives. If your company sells donuts as the mainstream product, it would confuse visitors to see pictures of fried chicken. If your business already has a logo or brand, it can be used or you may choose a new one. A picture of the actual product may also be ideal. Your business statement should also be simple. Internet surfers come from a kaleidoscope of educational and cultural backgrounds. An image and statement that are simple and appeal to a specific need or desire will be more appealing to more people. To complete your set-up, a web address must be chosen to direct traffic your age. The most effective way to choose a Universal Resource Locator (URL) recommend: short and simple, descriptive, and memorable. Shorter is best here because everyone has to remember the address, you will have to write it an infinite number of times, and visitors need to be able to spell it correctly. The address should also contain some indication of what the business is about. It should also be catchy or unique from others in the same industry. If your current slogan or business description is not warm, inviting, and exciting, change it. 3. Growing Your Audience & Creating Engagement Now your Business Page is up and running with a fresh ‘Open for eBusiness’ sign in the window. Letting the world know you are here and introducing your products and services can also be easy and fun. You may not have much of an audience to start, or, the Page may be your niche and right away you need to respond to thousands of people. You must be prepared to be patient and wait for the fish to bite, or hit the ground running and respond to an overwhelming response. When Zuckerman published FaceBook, he could not have known how much of a success it would be in such a short period of time. However; he was ready to meet the challenge. Research of current and future trends may or may not be instrumental in predicting future success, depending upon the market. Economic downturns sometimes discourage innovative thinking. However, redundancy could be a contributor to the fluctuation in the economy. Perhaps consumers stopped buying because of a lack of something new, which contributed to the fluctuation. This may be the best time to present new products or upgrade existing ones, to encourage the consumer to buy. Projects can be new ventures, replacements, or expansions of existing projects. Creativity and commitment are the variables for success on this lap of the race. Social Media sites may be the new technological marketing tool, but networking is not. Networking has been rated high on the list for success for a long time. Robert Kyncl, YouTube's Head of Content, says successful Internet Social Media sites ‘spend equal time creating content and developing their audience’. According to Kyncl, the following are steps to grow an audience (Kyncl, 2012): Collaborate; Include your Audience Engage Outside of FaceBook Personality vs. Brand Solicit Feedback Reward Referrals New businesses must collaborate. Many mistakes which are the nemesis of newbie businesses can be avoided by seeking camaraderie with those who have already been through. Partnering is a powerful strategy for businesses with little computer training and Internet marketing knowledge. Depending upon the nature of the business, engaging with clients in the real world makes the Business Page experience less dehumanizing to your visitors. It also offers you more in-depth insight. Small businesses that provide a service rather than a physical product may never have a reason to meet clients in the real world. However, creating events which give clients an opportunity to communicate away from the Internet anyway can be rewarding, depending upon the setting. Soliciting feedback eliminates the guesswork involved with customer satisfaction. It gives your visitors an opportunity to ask questions. Customer feedback will pinpoint deficiencies in areas such as speed and quality. Without it, you will waste time analyzing other variables to rate performance. It is worth the effort to reward feedback and sharing. You don’t have to guess at the progress or status of your new Page. If your product is in demand, delivered in a reasonable period of time, and is competitively priced, you will survive. Over time, the amount of traffic and visitor feedback will tell the true story. 4. Facebook Competitions A FaceBook ‘Like’ is a positive vote for something that has been posted on Facebook. People usually ‘Like” information they have some affiliation or interest in. It is also possible to ‘unLike’ content. When someone ‘Likes’ something, they establish a link to it, which joins them to others who ‘Liked’ the same thing. The author of the information is notified of the Likes, forming yet another connection. Facebook Likes have created a corporate marketing rat race, where only the Likeable survive. The FaceBook platform, along with Twitter and YouTube, has monopolized Internet Social Media with little competition. Small businesses enter the race on any level they can, if for no other reason, to be in the FaceBook loop. Facebook competitions are contests structure to solicit Likes. According to the Facebook administration, the competitions are ‘the most effective method for rapid like growth’ (Facebook, 2012) Running a FaceBook competition can help or hinder your Business. It should only occur when all other variables are in place and you have the time and resources to do it right. FaceBook Competition Protocol: Use a competition application to run a competition, not directly on your Wall. Visitors may ‘Like’ your Business Page to enter only if it leads them to entering a valid competition. Facebook requires that you notify the winner by email or any other means except FaceBook. The Best Response Social app is a guide to help you set up a competition (see Appendix A). “There are two big challenges in using Facebook for business: building the number of ‘Likes’ for your Page and getting your posts noticed on a user’s Wall among posts by a user’s Friends and other Pages that are so easy to ‘Like’ “( Donnelly, 2012). The Mandatory Like feature prompts users to Like your business before they can enter the competition. The Automatic Wall Post feature automatically posts the entrants’ information on the user’s wall and in their news feed. The Share With Friends feature generates a list of the entrant’s friends with prompts to invite them into the competition. Competition success depends upon who knows about it. Target Market (FaceBook, 2012) Do your customers enter competitions? What type of competition would they enter? What types of rewards would they like? Resist the urge to incorporate strategies that force your visitors to do something. Conscientious shoppers resent forceful ploys to get feedback, email addresses, purchases and subscriptions. Ultimately, the decision to buy or to participate belongs to the shopper. Any Likes or feedback you receive from forceful strategies will only be temporary accomplishments anyway. Keep in mind that Facebook began as a Social Media site, where people tracked down friends and family, and networked with others sharing common interests. Businesses have come in and found a gold mine in diverse communities. Although, Business Pages have been incorporated into the original scheme, FaceBook is not a business directory. 5. Legal Considerations for Page Owners To many, FaceBook is one big free-for-all; an internet giant growing bigger with less constraint each day. To some extent it is. Only those under the age of 13 and convicted sex offenders are prohibited from registering with Facebook. You must register your business with real, current information, in only one account. Your business activity must be considered legal by your local government. FaceBook was created in the United States; therefore it is subject to the laws of the United States Federal and State government agencies. The Electronic Communications Privacy Act (ECPA): U.S.C. § 2510 governs electronic communications, unlawful access, and disclosure (ECPA, 2012). The Federal Trade Commission Act (FTCA): 15 U.S.C § 45: governs unfair or deceptive acts. Businesses outside the United States are considered foreign agents and are also subject to the laws of the country the business registered through. The Council of Small Business Organizations of Australia (COSBOA) represents the issues concerning Australia’s of small businesses. The agency’s services include (COSBOA, 2012): Promote and support the development of small businesses in Australia Advocate to small businesses in Australia via policy change & regulatory reform Foster increased awareness and understanding of small businesses in Australia COSBOA provides advocacy to small business issues such as taxation, competition law, and retail tenancy. However, in order to publish your business Page, you must also agree to FaceBook’s Statement of Rights and Responsibilities (Facebook/legal, 2012). The statement addresses issues including privacy, sharing of content, registration and account security, and respecting the rights of others. If you fail to abide by the regulation, FaceBook reserves the right to delete content or even disable your entire account. Resist the urge to duplicate someone else’s Page. Everyone on FaceBook expects and deserves rights to privacy and content ownership. A large percentage of a new business Page’s success is its uniqueness. Most products and services are already offered elsewhere in several forms. Shoppers are screaming for originality. Do not underestimate your creativity! In fact, some of the legally posted content from other Pages may even seem offensive to you. However, respecting the rights of others is the only way a venture on a site of this magnitude can successfully continue. 6. Advertising on FaceBook Joining the Facebook rat race for advancement Facebook will increase your audience’s value perception and raise your business’s mark in investments. The main objectives of your FaceBook Business Page should be to advertise and run Sales promotions. Facebook for Small Business provides several tools for you to accomplish this. The following list contains tools you will use to maximize your Page: Facebook Places Sponsored Stories Facebook Offers Custom Audiences Promoted Posts The Facebook Help Centre provides support for each application with definitive guides and FAQs. FaceBook Places More and more, people are using android cellular phones, pods, pads, and tablets rather than desktop pcs and laptops. These devices are smaller with newer capabilities. FFaceBook Places is a mobile app that allows mobile users to locate friends and post their physical location (Facebook, 2012). Users check into virtual ‘Places’ to tag friends, and view comments friends have made. Sponsored Stories Sponsored Stories are messages from users about something on your Page, application or event which you have paid to highlight to increase the chances that your target audience will see them. (Facebook, 2012). Facebook Offers Facebook offers re mini commercials businesses use to advertise deals. Users receive offers of discounts and other promotions from businesses posted on their Facebook Pages (Facebook, 2012). To claim an offer, users click ‘Get Offer’ from the mini ad. Facebook sends the user an email with the details and instructions for the deal. Custom Audiences An important feature is the custom audience. From a social standpoint, the app was desired to enable users to block unwanted visitors and set privacy levels regarding who could view their content. Today, from a business perspective, the audience is why we are here. Lists give you an optional way to share posts with a custom audience and to exclude others from some or all of your posts. (Facebook, 2012). You may choose to share content or hide it from one or more lists with the audience selector. When you add users to your Restricted List, they can only view your Public content or posts you have tagged Lists, (Facebook, 2012) Promoted Posts The news feed delivers your stories you to your lists of friends and subscribers. You may choose to Promote significant posts to increase noticeability. Promoted posts appear higher in news feed, so there's a better chance your audience will see them (Facebook, 2012) Conclusion Innovation is a universal synonym for improvement. Today, companies and small businesses must maintain an ongoing plan for renovation of products and services. “Companies that focus on Business Model Innovation outperform their industry peers in terms of operating margin and total shareholder return” (Sniukas, 2012). A FaceBook Business Page is an option to keep the pace with the exponential growth of technology, and spontaneous changes in demand in your industry. Facebook applications for small businesses are simple; however, there are several. A visual tutorial will help you to understand the apps and decide which of them pertain to you. As with any other business venture, practicing due diligence is a must to mitigate risk. Internet governance regarding what can and cannot be posted online, Internet etiquette, and coexisting with other similar businesses are a virtual matrix. Obeying the law is an objective by default. Only you can change the setting. It seems everyone is out to promote their own interests and to make profits; some at the expense or through the naivety of others. Facebook, because of its size, is breeding ground for cybercrime. Understanding the predatory nature of eBusiness, copy write and infringement laws, and the appropriateness of materials for your Page will aid in your success and minimize legal issues References: Australian Flag Image. Trabajar en Australia: BuscarEmpleo.es Retrieved October 30, 2012 www.busarempleo.es Carlson, N. (2010). At Last -- The Full Story Of How Facebook Was Founded. Retrieved October 18, 2012 from http://www.businessinsider.com/how-facebook-was-founded-2010-3?op=1#ixzz29lJVuROyhttp://www.businessinsider.com/how-facebook-was-founded-2010-3?op=1#ixzz29lGRCGjc Donnelly, A. (2012) Facebook Competitions. Retrieved October 30, 2012 from http://www.searchenginejournal.com/facebook-competitions/27033/ ECPA. (2012) Electronic Communications Privacy Act (ECPA). Legal Web. Retrieved October 30, 2012 from http://legal.web.aol.com/resources/legislation/ecpa.html Facebook. (2012).Australia. Retrieved October 19, 2012 from http://www.facebook.com/SeeAustralia#!/photo.php?fbid=10151226246205909&set=pb.11071120908.-2207520000.1350664780&type=1&theater Facebook. (2012). Facebook for Business: Build your page. Retrieved October 18, 2012 from https://www.facebook.com/business/build Facebook. (2012). FaceBook: Statement of Rights and Responsibilities. Retrieved October 30, 2012 from http://www.facebook.com/legal/terms. Facebook. (2012). Small Business Saturday. Retrieved October 30, 2012 from https://www.facebook.com/SmallBusinessSaturday Facebook. (2012). The Council of Small Business Organizations of Australia (COSBOA) Retrieved October 30, 2012 from https://www.facebook.com/COSBOA/info Facebook. (2012). Images.Retrieved October 30, 2012 from http://images.search.yahoo.com/search/images?_adv_prop=image&fr=yfp-t-701-s&sz=all&va=australia+small+business+facebook Facebook. (2012). Images. Retrieved October 30, 2012 from http://images.search.yahoo.com/search/images?_adv_prop=image&fr=yfp-t-701-s&sz=all&va=australia+small+business+facebook Robertson, M. (2012). 8 Simple Ways to Build and Grow Your YouTube Audience & Subscribers. Retrieved November 01, 2012 rom http://www.reelseo.com/grow-youtube-audience/#ixzz2B7Llp1mMSchiller, I. (2012). Sniukas, M. (2012). How to make Business Model Innovation Happen. Innovation Management. Retrieved September 22, 2012 from http://www.innovationmanagement.se/2012/07/02/how-to-make-business-model-innovation-happen/ APPENDIX A Guide to FaceBook Business Page Resources 1. facebook.com/business 2. bestresponsesocial.co.uk 3. Facebook.com/competitions. Australia 4. facebook.com/legal/terms 5. facebook.com/COSBOA 6. networketiquette.net/ 7. legal.web.aol.com/resources/legislation/ecpa.html 8. facebook.com/SmallBusinessSaturday 9. makingafortune.biz/ 10. doubleyourlikes.com/ Read More