Why Be On Facebook?
There is no shortage of websites, blogs and books out there right now that will tell you that social media marketing and social networking are changing how business is getting done online as well as how business are connecting with their target markets, customers and business colleagues online.
You can hardly turn on the TV, radio or surf the web these days without find a reference to Facebook. Participating on Facebook is about being part of the online social conversation. Facebook continues to make it easier and easier for brands and businesses to join the conversation with their customers where they hang out and in a meaningful way. Word of mouth has always been a business’ best friend and platforms like Facebook make this possible to happen instantaneously with large numbers of people.
Recent statistics from Facebook show the following:
- There are more than 400 million active users on Facebook.
- Facebook estimates that 50% of these users log in each and every day.
- There are more than 3 million active Facebook Fan Pages.
- More than 1.5 million local businesses have active Facebook Fan Pages.
- More than 20 million users become fans of Fan Pages EVERY DAY.
Other recent statistics indicate that Facebook is not just for kids. Recent statistics have continued to show substantial growth among users of Facebook who are between 35 and 55. Other statistics indicate that over 80% of people who shop online are also using Facebook. There are other benefits to having a business presence on Facebook too. Facebook Fan Pages are indexed by the search engines and Google just announced that updates from Fan Pages will now appear in real time search.
What does that mean to you?
It means that having an active Business Fan Page presence on Facebook can have the potential to help you get found in the search engines. Say, for example, you have a catering business in Seattle. If you properly set up and optimize your Facebook Fan Page and someone does a search for caterers in Seattle, then you have increased your chances that someone will see your Fan Page relatively high in the search. Setting up a Fan Page on Facebook therefore, should be an integral part of the Search Engine Optimization strategy.
All of this points not to the question of “Why be on Facebook?” but
