Although everyone seems to be in agreement that Facebook should play an important role in your business, the sad fact of the matter is that most people just do not understand how to use it effectively. Even the best email marketers out there who have thousands and thousands of “friends” and “fans” have publicly expressed frustration at their inability to turn those individuals from acquaintances into clients and sales. Having the ability to effectively utilize Facebook in your business is one of the best ways to make yourself stand out from the rest of the crowd and is often worth a hefty pay hike in the bargain. You will find that it will pay off for you fast in just about any administrative or other position if you can make money for your business using Facebook.
 

One of the most important things to remember when you are using Facebook or other social networking sites for business is that they are, at heart, social. While you may not actually consider every single person on your friend list a personal friend, you need to provide a social context for your communications. To some degree, you need to have a real relationship and rapport with the people that you are targeting via social networking in order for your efforts to be effective. This means that you need a picture of a person rather than a logo, for example, as your profile picture. It also means that you should generally post in the first person and post periodically throughout the day, in real time, instead of just once or twice on a schedule.

Next, remember that the big advantage of social networking is that you can elicit action. However, that action may not necessarily be making a purchase. What you can do in a reasonably predictable manner is move people – literally. For example, some retail companies offer their “friends” extra coupons or special sales that take place only if you work through Facebook. Sometimes you even have to go to the store in person at a certain time and show you are a friend by displaying a coupon. This might get you a free item or a good discount. The important thing is that the people are inside the store and exposed to the merchandise.

Social networking and social media are highly effective forms of advertising in addition to being great ways to stay in touch. However, you have to have a light touch or people will feel that their trust in you as a “friend” has been violated. Always tread lightly with social media and take care to be considerate and your marketing will have greater effect.