I’m still on the fence about the value of a Facebook presence for businesses.
Most companies have not yet begun to harness the power of their websites, blogs, and Twitter accounts for social media and search engine optimization (SEO). They’d be crazy to set up a Facebook page where they could make a spectacle of themselves doing yet another mediocre job of social media.
That said, there are some companies for which Facebook pages are ideal:
- A very high percentage of their customers are already active Facebook users.
- They have more sense than to beg or buy Facebook “Likes.”
- They have time and resources to monitor the Facebook page 24/7, to post frequent content updates, and to respond personally to comments (no generic “autoreplies,” please).
- They have a strategic plan for what they want their Facebook presence to accomplish and what content they will roll out on Facebook to accomplish that goal.
If you’re using Facebook, Jim Belosic of ShortStack has some great tips for writing Facebook posts with good calls to action. These tips also work well for Twitter.
Great question. I am working with a company now that is on the fence about it as well. I agree, if its just another thing your going to just “kinda” do, then you may as well not do it. its not going to get you that far
Facebook is really tricky, because users come to it with an expectation of personalized, natural language — from their friends. Companies that use “marketing speak” on Facebook risk sounding like loud TV ads.