Develop Your Facebook Marketing Strategy

You can find their names on Facebook but the small businesses and professionals I work with never developed any kind of marketing strategy with this social networking medium. So naturally they tell me Facebook is useless unless they want to get in touch with friends or keep track of their kids.

Facebook is just like any other marketing platform. For instance, you've been receiving and sending mail for years but you may or may not use the mail to market your practice. Do you send out direct mail advertising? If you are placing an ad in a coupon mailer once a month you have a marketing strategy. It's the same with Facebook. If you aren't doing anything to market yourself on Facebook why would you expect people to find you? This is especially true if you're only posting on Facebook to your friends and family.

My one rule for online networking, however, is that whatever you do, it is building relationships first which may or may not lead to business. Marketing or selling your business or practice will turn off many who could have been your prospects.

Before you start implementing your Facebook strategy set some guidelines for yourself otherwise you will be all over the board and be back at square one with no results.

1. Determine how much time you want to give to marketing on Facebook either daily or weekly.

2. Identify which market you want to target then narrow that market down even further.

3. Set up a Facebook page that focuses on your profession or business niche.

4. Set up a Facebook group or groups that focus on one or more of your specialties. For example, if you're a dermatologist you may want a group focusing on preventing skin cancer or reducing wrinkles.

5. Set up an opt-inbox on your Profile and your Page or have a Virtual Assistant or Webmaster do it for you. Make sure that you are taking your subscribers to a page that will market you and provide value for them. For instance, send your subscribers a free report about clothing that protects you from the sun.

These are just a few steps you'll need to put in place when you develop your marketing strategy for Facebook. If you don't have the time hire someone who knows how to do it for you – someone like a Virtual Assistant.

There is no reason why you can't make a change of direction in your career and market it efficiently and within your budget.

For those of you already on Facebook, we are open to your success stories. Scroll down to Comments and share your experiences.

To your career success.

Ruthan Brodsky

Comments

[Bruce "the Mid-Life Mentor"]

I have paid a great deal of money to marketing experts who never explained these basic concepts clearly or concisely. Thanks for this start on how to think about marketing my business on Facebook.

[Ruthan Brodsky]

Bruce
Keep us posted about how you're doing on Facebook.
Ruthan