By now it’s no secret that social media, Facebook in particular, is the new marketing frontier for companies large and small. According to www.allfacebook.com, there are over 400 million active Facebook users around the globe. How does that affect your business? 

With at least 1.5 million local businesses promoting fan pages and running advertisements to highly specific audiences, your competition is likely engaging potential customers already. Thus, as part of your social media strategy, scoping out the competition and/or industry leaders should be a top priority no matter the business you’re in.  For example:

• For a print machine dealership, check out companies like Xerox, www.facebook.com/XeroxCorp, or Kodak @ www.facebook.com/kodak.
• If you sell to or own an office supply store/chain, take a look at Staples’ Facebook fan page @ www.facebook.com/staples

Getting to know the competition on Facebook will give you an important baseline for how to effectively use it to reach your own audience. If you’re new or inexperienced at Facebook social media marketing as a corporate strategy, don’t worry; here are some essential tips that will help you build relationships with customers and hopefully gain an edge on your direct competitors.

Facebook Fan Pages 
A Facebook fan page is simply a customizable profile that any company can set up as a resource for their customers and potential customers@ www.Facebook.com. To make a fan page, log in to your Facebook account and find the ‘Advertising’ section where you will be able to name your page and select its category. Once you create the page, you can customize the default tabs including: business/product information, images, and links to your main company website.  In addition to the default customizations for your fan page, you can also add unique applications for things like causes, events, discussions, and news that allow your fans greater interaction. Remember, you’re making a page for them so choose your average customer’s demographics and aim to create an experience that keeps them interested. For example, some of the most popular company fan pages run contests and provide promotional coupons on their Facebook fan pages regularly to give potential customers an incentive to visit more than just once. 

Facebook Ads
Facebook sponsored ads are served in a vertical 3-slot rotation on the right side of the screen when a user is logged-in to their account and browsing various pages. 

Each paid Facebook ad contains 4 main elements:
1.  A headline
2.  An image
3.   A description of your product,service, offer
4.   A “Like” (thumbs up) option for Facebook users to select in support of your ad

A “Like” response is really good for visibility because it alerts your fan’s friends that they liked your ad.

The true power of paid Facebook ads lies in your / the advertiser’s ability to target your ads to specific user segments based on a comprehensive list of your potential customers’ actual profile attributes including their: geography, demographics, likes and dislikes, company, and groupsor networks to name a few. Once you specify unique attributes that your ads should show for, Facebook will find relevant user profiles and start displaying your ads to them on a cost-per-click basis. How does all this attribute-targeting translate into strategy for you? 

Imagine you sell office supplies and you know the exact types of companies that end users of your product line work for. You could go ahead and create a promotional, no-brainer ad targeting these companies’ names as your ad criterion. Any of that company’s employees on Facebook would likely see your relevant ad and be more qualified to learn more about your products.

Tips for Fan Pages & Sponsored Ads

1. Create an action that users can take once they click on your ad and arrive at your fan page or your website (i.e. can they make a purchase, download a coupon, or contact you?). Measure the success of your Facebook ads based on the actions they produce.
2. Utilize Facebook's demographic targeting to focus on a specific type of potential customer.
3. Use exclusive promotions and contests to encourage interest among your target audience. 
4. Set your ad’s bid price within Facebook's suggested CPC bid range.
5. Test ads regularly with different types of attribute-targeting (geographic, demographic, company specific) to find out which produce better results.
6. Use language speaking to your target audience in your ads. For example, if you are targeting employees of a certain company, use that company’s name in your ads. Be cautious of trademark infringements with this strategy, however.

Ben Ronnenberg is a Search Engine Marketing Specialist at ROI Revolution, Inc., in Raleigh, NC.  He can be contacted at ben@roirevolution.com.  For additional, free online marketing tips from ROI Revolution, visit www.roirevolution.com/freeguide. N+,CDIA+. At 619.379-3009.