Let’s face it – we are in the age of Facebook. Time as we know it will be measured as life-before-Facebook and life-after-Facebook. Facebook has become the Internet revolution unlike any other social media in that it is by far the most successful with over 500 million active users out of whom 50% login everyday. These users spend about 700 billion minutes per month on Facebook. According to Facebook’s website, these users interact with 900 million objects on Facebook (pages, groups, events and community pages). The average user is connected to 80 community pages, groups and events and is attributed to creating 90 pieces of content each month. More than 30 billion pieces of content (web links, news stories, blog posts, notes, photo albums, etc.) are shared each month by Facebook users.
44% of marketers can confirm that the use of social media had spiked their search marketing efforts. According to business.com, 77% of B2B companies surveyed had a presence on Facebook among other social media engagements.
However you look at it, it is hard to ignore this fact – Facebook’s reach is tremendous and the opportunities for networking are incredible. With so many people spending so much time on Facebook, it’s hard not to harness that window of opportunity. But as I noted in my previous blog, Facebook, like other social media must be used solely for the purpose of networking and community building if you choose to add it to your social media marketing list. If you sign-up with the sole purpose of doing business, you may find yourself without any “friends” at least on Facebook. Facebook should be utilized for social networking, and to some extent, promoting your business page rather than your product. And your business page should be an online community that engages, interacts, and informs, rather than focus on heavy selling or promoting.
So get yourself a Facebook account if you haven’t already got one. Besides the obvious advantage of being able to snoop on your son’s friend’s list, you can also connect with hundreds of people from your past and present. You can work and play on the same social media sites. As long as you know how to create lists, use privacy settings, know how much information to disseminate and how much time to spend on your social media sites (these things can get pretty addictive), you can stay engaged with a wide network of people – both business and personal.
And while you are browsing Facebook to check out your cousin’s vacation pictures or update your status, visit the Bluff Manufacturing page. You will find interesting news topics and exciting updates about the material handling, manufacturing and supply chain industries as well as insightful tips on marketing and sales. You will also get hot-off the-press information about our company, its products, promotions and events before everyone else does. So come visit us on Facebook. Leave us a note, join our discussions, browse our wall, view our pictures and videos, and hopefully “like our page” before you leave.
