Missed Out On Cyber Monday Sales? Implement Facebook Marketing for the Holidays

Happy Cyber Monday! It's that time of year again. I did minimal Black Friday shopping, and spent my Friday giving my business locally.

As a Californian, I found this article interesting. This story shows how local Long Beach, Calif. businesses missed the boat by not utilizing social media to compete with national retailers. Ouch! 

"According to a National Retail Federation and Shop.org eHoliday survey, while consumers obtain information about retailers’ sales and promotions from various channels, nearly three in 10 (29.2%) will check a company’s Facebook page for more information, and about two-thirds (65.1%) will read customer reviews on the company’s website."

These statistics above tell the social media story. If you are a local business who didn't take advantage of social media marketing on Cyber Monday, it's not too late to implement "buzz marketing" strategies to boost your holiday sales.

Check out these easy Facebook tips to ramp up your social media presence for the holiday season:

• If you don't have a Facebook Business Page, then it's time to create one. Not every business is suitable for Facebook. But if you sell directly to consumers. then you definitely need a Facebook presence.
• Grow your fans organically and strengthen relationships. 'Tis the season so don't slack off on your Facebook fans. If you ask "fans" to like your brand/company, give them something valuable in return - discounts, coupons, etc. Your Facebook Page needs to be a two-way communication street. 
• Do NOT use your Facebook Page to SELL products. Don't come across as a spammer. It goes back to building and developing genuine rapport with your fans.
•  Install Facebook  "Like" buttons on your home page and product sales pages. This is an easy way to draw people back to your Fan Page, and interact with your customers and fans who like your products and services. 
• WHO are your target markets? No two customers on your Facebook Page are the same. What do they like? Dislike? What are their purchasing habits? Do they only buy products online based on price or convenience? Review and interact with their comments on your Facebook Page to dig for more information. Get inside the head of your targeted consumers, and figure out social media campaign strategies that will actually appeal to them. 

What social media strategies have you implemented to boost your holiday sales? I'd love to know! 

Put Your Best Face Forward & 60 Helpful Facebook Tips for Businesses

I was featured as Tip #26 in Carol Roth's blog, 60 + Tips for Using Facebook in Business. I share why it's important for authors and speakers to included a professional photo on their Facebook page. 

There are great Facebook tips on Carol's blog, so please check out the other 59 tips from business professionals. A big thanks to Carol Roth for including my tip in her article. 

Additional tips when using Facebook Pages for business:

• Not ALL businesses or industries are a suitable match for Facebook. Facebook is primarily B2C (business to consumer), so Facebook may not be a suitable social media platform for B2B companies. Research your target markets before you jump on the Facebook Page bandwagon.
• Remember that one size does NOT fit all when it comes to social media -- social media is merely a marketing tool and Facebook is not the end-all, be-all to social media. Join professional networking sites such LinkedIn. I've landed fantastic clients through LinkedIn.  

How do you use Facebook to promote and market your company/business? 

3 Easy Ways to Market Your Facebook Page

There is a lot of confusion centered around Facebook Pages versus Facebook profiles, and wanted to pass along 3 easy tips to market your Facebook page. The big question that Facebook users have is "what's the difference between my Facebook profile and my Facebook page?" Business professionals are confused as to WHY they need a Facebook Page and how it can help them. 

Facebook Pages allow businesses, organizations, etc. to create a visible presence on Facebook. Unlike a Facebook profile, Facebook Pages are available to everyone who searches online. You can easily connect with these Pages by becoming a fan and "liking" pages and then receive updates in your News Feeds every time people add information to their pages. There are no limits to how many fans you can have on Facebook pages; whereas, you can have only 5,000 friends on your Facebook profile (although, there is talk that Facebook will eventually lift this 5,000 limit). 

That's a very good reason to stop what you're doing right now and create a Facebook page! However, remember that Facebook Pages are not advised for EVERY business or organization. If you are primarily a B2C (business to consumer/customer) company, then I highly suggest you stick with Facebook but if your concentration is B2B (business to business), I suggest concentrating on LinkedIn marketing. Even though I have a Facebook page, I use LinkedIn primarily to market and use Facebook to complement my marketing efforts (I still post links to my blog, etc. on my Page).

Make sure that your Facebook Page really stands out - include links to your blog, website, contact information, email, etc. Include a professional photo on your Page (and/or your company brand/logo). Your Page represents your business so keep it professional and uncluttered (and manage your page for spammers - spammers love to blast Facebook pages with annoying posts on Walls.)

The biggest challenge that most business professionals face with their social media is that they don't have TIME. Ok, no excuses - here are 3 easy ways you can market your Facebook page - starting today!

1. Include your Facebook Page URL on your Twitter and LinkedIn profiles. This creates a social media funnel to lead your Twitter and LinkedIn followers back to your Page. The goal of social media is to share valuable content and create authentic relationships with your followers/fans. Also, your Facebook page allows you to share more content compared to your tweets and LinkedIn updates, so take advantage of this easy cross-marketing tactic!

2. Create unique content for your Facebook Page. People want to feel special and included, so give them a reason to feel "in the know" when it comes to the content that you share on your Page. Think outside of the social media box. Include video content on your Facebook page to engage your Fans quickly. You don't have to reinvent the wheel and you can still include links to your blog on your Fan Page, but mix it up now and then when it comes to your content. 

3. Share, share and share with your Vanity URL. A Facebook Page vanity URL is ideal and an easy way to share your Page. However, you first need 25 fans before you can set up your vanity URL. I suggest you include your vanity URL in your email signature, business cards, and any online and offline marketing materials/content. Include your vanity URL on your other social media profiles. You want to share this link as much as possible but don't go crazy and spam it everywhere. A vanity URL is set up in the following way:  www.facebook.com/companyname (or whatever name you choose to brand your page).Warning: Don't just ask ANYONE to 'like' your page so you can quickly get your vanity URL. Ask people to check out your page but don't beg for 'likes' just to get a vanity URL - this is a big 'no-no' when it comes to social media marketing. You don't want random fans you don't know - defeats your purpose of engaging fans in a real, authentic way. 

Here is more information about how to create vanity URLs. 

How do you market your Facebook Page? What Facebook marketing tips and tools do you use to promote your Page?