Socializing on the Clock (Part 2: Facebook)

Facebook can be a scary place for business owners. Many presidents and CEOs aren’t sure what to post, whom to post to, which groups to join, or what companies to follow. I’m sure they’d all love to know, but many of them simply don’t have the time to figure it out. If you’re a higher-up, I strongly suggest hiring someone to development content and manage your online activity. It really is a full-time job.

Developing a following on Facebook takes practice, patience, and persistence. Personal Facebook profiles are easy to manage. Most profile updates pertain to what an individual is doing, or explain how an individual is feeling. Insidefacebook.com reported that 35 million people were updating their statuses each day in 2009. Whether that number has since risen or fallen, I think we can all agree that millions and millions of daily status updates makes for a lot of “noise” in the news feeds. In addition to updating their statuses, users are also sharing billions of pieces of content each month. Content includes photo albums, wall posts, notes, blogs, stories, and much more.

So, assuming your company has a Facebook Fan Page, how can you post information relevant enough to stand out amongst the millions of status updates and billions of content posts?

Being successful on Facebook takes time and research. If you’re responsible for producing the content on your company’s page, you should be “out in the field” all day, every day. You don’t need to constantly update your status or post articles, but you should be gathering information, commenting on others’ Facebook pages, blogs, etc., and paying attention to when you’re getting feedback. When is your audience using Facebook?  Smart phones make it easy to stay connected. In fact, Facebook’s Statistics page states that people using Facebook on their mobile devices are twice as active on Facebook than non-mobile users. However, businesses aren’t posting status updates like, “Going out for dinner.” They’re not sharing lyrics to a popular song on a fan’s wall, or coming up with cliché names for a photo album. The content on your Facebook Fan Page should be relevant to your cause. Know your target audience. What is it that they want to hear about? What will make them actually come back to your page? If someone has a question, answer it right away. If someone comments on your post, respond promptly. People will see how committed you are to your audience. You’ll gain trust and build brand loyalty.

B2C businesses will have an easier time connecting to their consumers. Asking consumers about their weekend, what their favorite product is, what they’re using your products for, etc., encourages interaction. People log in to Facebook to socialize and participate. They want to tell you about their weekend, and what they like or dislike. Of course, you still want most of your posts to be relevant to the “big picture,” but throwing in silly posts to entertain your fans every once in a while will keep them interested, and give your business personality. Customers will feel like they’re connecting to someone who represents your company, instead of a cold, stiff page that throws out information every once in a while.

B2B businesses may find it harder to interact with consumers. You probably won’t get 100 followers overnight. Keep posting; keep reaching out. Social media is a great way to create contacts in your industry. Checking out a Fan Page, a blog, or a Twitter feed requires no commitment. If businesses like what they see on one of these mediums, they’re likely to follow a link to your website for more information. The key here is to be active, but be patient. You’ll see results if you put in the time and effort to interact.

So, go get socializing!

I’ll see you online.