Many business people still think of Facebook as a website for teens and college students to meet new people, find old friends and keep in touch.
That’s still true, but Facebook now works for businesses the same way, attracting old friends and new.
More and more businesses are finding Facebook’s “fan” pages are powerful marketing tools.
Businesspeople are meeting others, sharing information about their businesses, exchanging marketing tips and discussing products and services.
Newer sites like LinkedIn are designed entirely for business communication and marketing. Even YouTube is used to promote marketing videos of products and services.
It’s a phenomenon that’s likely to be around for a long time, said Laura Christianson, owner of Blogging Bistro in Snohomish. She’s learned firsthand how blogs can build a business and how important blogging and social media sites have become.
Years ago she was a high school journalism and English teacher, as well as being an advisor for the school yearbook — which she calls “the original Facebook” in the time before the Internet.
Then she began “blogging” on the Internet about adoption — a topic close to her heart — and national attention followed, showing her in no uncertain terms the power of the World Wide Web.
“Everything I’ve done in the 30 years of my career led to what I’m doing now. I always, always wanted to write so I moved out of teaching to freelance writing when the kids were young, reviewing photo editing software for computer magazines,” she said.
Then she had an opportunity to do public relations writing for Dream Dinners in Snohomish, the first — and today the most successful — of the home meal preparation enterprises that have been created across the country.
She also found she had a book inside that wanted to come out.
“I’m an adoptive mother of two children and I felt a strong urge to write a book to help other adoptive parents — “The Adoption Decision, 15 Things You Want to Know Before Adopting,” she recalls.
That led her to blogging professionally on the same topic, back when blogs were just getting started on the Internet. Blogging helped to establish her expertise and credibility, which inspired her to write her second book, “The Adoption Network: Your Guide to Starting a Support System.”
With networking on her mind, she soon gravitated to online networking through social media websites.
Soon she was making presentations at conferences, consulting with people one-on-one and finding simple, common sense ways to explain how to profit from the amazingly rapid growth of the world of social media to people who were still struggling to understand strange new names like Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter and the business benefits of using YouTube for broadcasting videos.
“Social media is developing into opportunities for businesses to promote themselves but it’s still confusing to many of them. Business owners have so many demands on their time; they’ve heard how important social media is, but they don’t know what to do with it,” she said.
That’s where she can help, from giving advice and guidance to ghosting blogs and setting up Web sites.
“Those who are 45 and younger have grown up with computers so the mindset shift towards social media marketing is a relatively easy transition for them. But a lot of business owners over age 45 are playing catch up,” she said.
Many people, she said, try blogging or tweeting and give up quickly because they haven’t developed a strategy for how they want to use social media to build their business.
“I tell them you need to plan things out, then figure how to accomplish your social media goals. And that includes giving yourself permission to not do it all,” she said.
“Think of your media sites and blogs as your 24-hour storefront worldwide. If your site looks old or neglected, people will pass you by in a hurry. And, when you blog, don’t just promote your business; provide valuable information that people will find interesting and useful. If they like what they find at your site they’ll remember you and your business and come back or order products or visit your ‘real’ store,” she said. “All of the interaction just builds long-term loyalty. Also, social media is really a cost-effective way of promoting a business. It’s been proven be have 61 percent lower cost per lead than leads than some of the more traditional forms of marketing.
“People are defaulting to the Internet for information and resources rather than using traditional means such as telephone book advertising. Also, people who come to your Web site or Facebook site are there because they’re already interested. Social media helps you keep your business top-of-mind in the business world,” Christianson said.
As for the fear of blogging — a natural feeling for many people who aren’t adept at writing and blogging and coming up with topics or just simply don’t have the time — she’s published an 88-page e-book to help take care of that.
“Blogophobia Conquered” includes chapters about overcoming the seven most common fears about blogging to create an amazing blog in spite of your fears.
“Blogging is not a sprint, it’s a marathon,” Christianson said. “Statistics show that 97 percent of new blogs are abandoned after the first entry. But if you get help and create a plan you can make it fun and make it work for you.”
Currently, Facebook is the leader among social media sites, providing a social arena for meeting new friends, finding old ones and sharing information, photos and experiences.
But its popularity is boosted by also having separate “fan” pages that provide a variety of business building opportunities.
For those who are serious about boosting their business through social media, Christianson provides customized coaching, Web site and blog development, turn-key business blogs, eNewsletter preparation and on-site training, plus presentations at conferences and chamber of commerce or civic group meetings.
Among her satisfied customers are Rich’s for the Home, WinePress Publishing Group, Recipe Runway, Florida Christian Writers’ Conference, SpaRetailer magazine, CRAVEcompany and many more.
“Another thing that’s nice about social media sites is that statistics reporting services provide information about people visiting your sites and articles they looked at. This information gives business owners a strong indication of what their customers are looking for, so they can tailor their products and services to those needs,” she said.
There are over 300 million people active on Facebook, she said, and 100 million of them log in every day.
“That’s a tremendous audience to reach with information about your business. Plus, people who read your Facebook updates like being able to connect with the head of the company and to get to know you, something traditional marketing rarely presents,” she said.
Also, blogs have a long life span, with each post archived online, providing interesting and useful information that people will read, share with others and return to read again.
“Another great advantage of social networking is that you can link up with other professionals in your field and stay in touch, trade information and get to know each other,” she said, which makes an often impersonal Internet very personal and friendly.
Like any Web site or social media site, people need to be careful about how much personal, sensitive information they provide to guard against identity theft.
But, as Christianson will tell you, that leaves a lot of leeway for promoting your business safely in totally new ways
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