Friday, July 10, 2009

Put your business on Facebook

Facebook is a social networking site that allows users to stay in touch with their friends, family, co-workers and even customers. Facebook was founded on February 4, 2004 and today millions of people use Facebook everyday and are able to upload an unlimited number of photos, share links, share videos and learn more about the people they meet through their 'wall' and it is absolutely free.

So who uses Facebook? Individuals, public figures, celebrities, musicians, bands, artists, communities, businesses, pretty much anyone you can think of. You can create a personal account and/or a business account.

Business pages are distinct presences that are seperate from user profiles and are optimized for a business organizations needs to communicate, distribute information, engage their fans and capture new customers through their fans recommendations. Business pages have the ability to give you access to free advertising to millions of people just by creating an account and if you want more visability, you can create an ad on Facebook to further showcase your business. With a Facebook business page, you are also creating an opportunity to help your business with search engine optimization by creating incoming links to your business website from your Facebook page using the 'share links' feature. A great feature that will appeal to some businesses, is the 'photo gallery' section of your Facebook page. For instance, if you have a portfolio, a photography business, a landscape or architecture business, a restaurant, perhaps you want to share a series of images to your potential customers. You can upload an entire photo gallery (up to 200 images per gallery) to display your work and/or business, plus you can include captions and links to each image.

Pros of Facebook:

  • It's free...
  • Free advertising to millions
  • Unlimited photo uploads, great for portfolios
  • Helps with SEO (search engine optimization)
  • You can join 'networks' to connect with your community
  • Capture new customers

Cons of Facebook:

  • No easy web address to verbally tell someone about
  • No ability to customize your Facebook page (colors, background, etc.).
  • Searching for someone by their business name can be a challenge

Overall, the pros of Facebook outweigh the cons and I would recommend it to any business as an opportunity to further advertise your products and services for free while connecting with your local community.

Red Lace Design offers Facebook set-up for businesses which includes account set-up, icon creation, Facebook badge creation (for use on your business website to link to your Facebook page), profile and privacy set-up, adding your business information, joining networks and adding links to your homepage, all for the low introductory rate of $100. We also offer photo gallery creation, discussion board creations and sending out friend requests for an additional fee. Visit us at Red Lace Design to learn more and get started on your Facebook business page today.

Red Lace Design is on Facebook and part of the Portland Oregon network.

Lacey Johnston

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