There are Now 500 Million Facebook Users

July 21, 2010 0 Comments

Facebook now has more users than more established countries. Today, July 21st, Facebook has hit the 500 million user mark. It has taken them 6 years since the beginning of the site, but most of the users came within the past few months. I remember when Facebook was only allowed for people with college email addresses. Every college was not a part of facebook and you had to send them information in order to be included. Facebook was a little more personal then, but now it is a giant….A large social giant.

Facebook continues to change the way that people communicate with each other. Now it seems to be acceptable to just poke your friend or post a message to their wall on their birthday, when you used to actually pick up the phone and call. Some people like the way Facebook has increased the efficiency of communication, but others are not happy about it. Many people still enjoy the face to face time that they get with socializing. I know that may be weird to some of you, but before you couldn’t be friends with someone by association without meeting them. It just didn’t work out.

As Facebook grew its user base, the advertising didn’t follow too far behind. Advertising your business or services is becoming huge on Facebook and every company is trying to get a piece of it. Many companies now have dedicated Facebook fan pages, where they hold contests and tell their fans about new promotions. Others just use their business page to keep in touch with customers and solve issues. Either way, this social network is not only for individuals, but for businesses as well. Not many places can cater to both, but Facebook does a great job at it. I am excited to see where Facebook will go in the next 5 years and beyond. Congratulations Facebook on the 500 million users!

How To Setup a Facebook Business Page

July 19, 2010 2 Comments

Facebook is the master of social networking. People have been using it for years to connect and expand their network. While I do not agree with everything that people do on Facebook, I do agree with Facebook allowing businesses to have pages. If you have a business, why would you not want to expand your reach with the largest social networking site in the world? In order to setup a Facebook business page, you will need to have a personal account. This is so you can manage the business page as you will be the admin. It is simple and easy to setup a personal account, and I am sure most of you already have one. You may have to blow the cob webs off of your personal profile, but that is ok. Hub pages has created a simple how to video on setting up your Facebook business page. It is easy to follow and should give you everything that you need in order to setup the business page.

If you are debating between setting one up or not, I would say just go for it. You could find out that your business already has many fans, and fans usually express their feelings about things that they love. Remember, positive word of mouth is one of the most powerful marketing tools any company can have in their arsenal. Enjoy the video below and let us know if you have any other questions.

How Will You Treat Social Media in 2010?

December 24, 2009 1 Comment

As 2009 nears an end and 2010 begins, it is time for both online and offline marketers to get their agendas finalized and hopefully budgets together. As we look back at the struggles of 2009 with the recession, we see that one medium has thrived and will continue to thrive. Social Media has blown the gates down this year as many retailers start using it to promote their companies and provide deals and sales to their followers. The main question is will you start or continue with social media?

If you have thought about getting into social media, but just haven’t done it yet, 2010 looks like it is the year to start. With more and more people jumping onto social networks and following their favorite retailers, everyone should start getting a piece of the pie. A lot of companies have created new positions for social media in order for everything to be properly tracked and accounted for. It is easy for customers to post negative things about your company and you want someone or a team to be on top of that and provide real time action for those negative comments. This shows that you are dedicated to customer service and only Social Media provides that instant fire fight capability. Without it, you resort to trying to resolve issues the old fashion way. As more retailers and businesses join the social media ranks, it will become the mainstream way to handle customer service issues and the most cost effective. There have been some companies that have eliminated their phone staff for social media experts. This method does not work for everyone, but it can work for some.

If you are already participating in social media, how can you improve on it? Does your company provide exclusive deals via twitter or facebook? Do you offer product reviews via Youtube? Are your company updates visible to your followers and your groups? There are many ways to improve how you use social media, so think outside the box and use this medium as a way to improve your relationship with your customers. If you have the capability, it would be wise to assemble a team to improve your social media usage and increase its power for your company. 2010 is the year of social media, so jump on board and control your company’s brand a little better.

Google Launches Goo.gl URL Shortening Service

December 14, 2009 1 Comment

Google never lets anyone have their moment. Just as Facebook launched their URL Shortening service: fb.me, Google lets us all know that the search giant has joined with the launch of Goo.gl. With the huge popularity of Bit.ly on twitter on other places that reguire short URL’s, Google and other companies have joined with their own URL shortening service. It is available for Google Products and not for wide consumer use. They say that Goo.gl provides Stability, Security, and Speed. These sound like core competencies that Google always tries to provide to its user base on every product it releases. It looks like people will be able to use this service on Twitter if they already have Google Products. Leave it to Google to squash Facebook’s URL Shortening Parade. Who do you think is next to the URL Shortening Game?

Small Business Checklist Item # 10 – Social Media

December 2, 2009 0 Comments

As the internet ages and online marketing gets harder, companies need to now think about using social media as a marketing medium. If your company is not using social media as a way to attract new customers, then you really need to think about starting. Social Media outlets include blogs, twitter, facebook, you tube, and more. These are great venues to build your brand online.

One of the most important things about online marketing is building your brand and keeping your brand awareness with your customers. The easiest way to do so is with social media. Not only good to build brand awareness, but you can also use it to solve any customer service issues or any negative feedback that you might find online. It makes it easy to stop negative feedback when it starts, so it gives you a better reason to fight negative comments.

Twitter is an easy way to tell your customers what you are doing right when you are doing it along with giving your followers deals that no one else can get. You can also use twitter to answer customer questions and provide information about your business and products.

Facebook is also a good way to build your brand and keep your customers up to date with what you are doing and what products/services you are now carrying. It is easy to setup an account and build your own company page.

Not every business can use You Tube, but if you sell products and you can provide video reviews of these products, then youtube is a great venue to be at. Anyone can sign up and post videos, so provide your customers a great way to see who you are and what information you can give them.

Creating your own company blog is a great way to voice your opinion about your industry and to let customers know what you are doing in your company. They are easy to setup and can be a very good asset when trying to convince customers to do business with you. Most hosting platforms include wordpress, which is one or the most popular blogging platforms.

No matter which social media outlet you choose, or all of them (this is preferred), you can keep your brand well protected and keep your customers happy as well. Many companies are creating positions in their marketing teams that is for people to runt their twitter, youtube, facebook, etc accounts to make sure that they are looking good in the eyes of their customers. Social media is not going away anytime soon, so make sure your company is utilizing it.

iMark Interactive