From kids and teens to adults and grandparents, all types of people are now active in the world of Facebook. With Facebook’s domination as the most popular media site, incredible amounts of data are generated on a daily basis. With a community of members well up into the millions, Facebook gathers and distributes tons of information. While most of this information might seem useless to most, it’s a goldmine to businesses and organisations. When Facebook is utilised as a marketing tool, businesses use the collected data to find their consumers, communicate with them, gather information about their brand image and to further promote their brand. With the popularity of Facebook, a business can monetize without the added costs of traditional marketing and communicating methods.
Below are some of the most popular Facebook tools used to fulfill marketing objectives, according to Contemporary Management Research:
- Facebook profile: A strong profile of the organization can be established on Facebook with its vision and mission statement stated and clearly defined.
- Facebook groups: The following are the most important aspects that can be used to attract consumers: the name of the group, the group topic and image of the group.
- Business/Fan pages: Fans will receive updates from the company as new information is posted. The organization can regularly post information on the business/fan page on upcoming events, articles, games, blogs, podcasts, videos and links.
- Sharing events: The organization can advertise its upcoming events on Facebook.
- Social ads and polls: Social ads can be placed on Facebook according to the age, sex, location, workplaces and education level of the users. Polls can also be organized on Facebook to obtain valuable feedback from users.
- Facebook messages can be tailored and sent to individual users.
Businesses also have the option to geo-target their posts on their own Facebook pages:
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An example of Facebook marketing:
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With the growing popularity of all platforms of social media and the downturn of the economy, Facebook is undeniably useful for more than just posting selfies and cat memes.
References:
Ramsaran-Fowdar, R., & Fowdar, S. (2013). The implications of facebook marketing for organizations. Contemporary Management Research, 9(1), 73-83. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/1438729497?accountid=26503
Scherer, J., Marketing for small businesses, 11 Awesome (and 1 terrible) Facebook post examples with critiques & best practices, Wishpond. Retrieved fromhttp://blog.wishpond.com/post/58738215261/11-awesome-facebook-post-examples-critiques-best-practic
Social Media Tactics 