Facebook Integration
Facebook, once only known to be used for social networking and reconnecting with friends on the web, is starting to look like a huge online marketplace. Retailers are scrambling to market to the enormous audience that Facebook attracts daily and turn users into paying customers. It started with the Facebook fan pages, which allowed businesses to build a presence for their brand on the social networking website. They can add an unlimited number of fans on their fanpage, and many big name retailers have already successfully built a big following. Just recently Facebook has been linked to ecommerce on an even larger scale. Many of these businesses which were already well integrated with Facebook are starting to create their own e-commerce apps, allowing them to directly sell their products to fans through Facebook.
If you own an online business or are thinking of starting one and you have not tried Facebook marketing yet then you better start now. The first thing you must do is build a Facebook fanpage. It is fast and easy, simply look for the link on their website and complete the requested information. Once that is done, it's time to really begin customizing your page in a unique way that will draw people in and get them to become fans. Below is a list of features on the fan page and how you can use it to promote your business.
Wall - have fans leave comments in this area, share their thoughts, help make suggestions, ask a question, etc.
Info - write a description of your business, make sure it's catchy and remember to speak to your audience in a way that they will like
Notes - share the latest news on your e-commerce business, announce promotions, etc.
FBML - create up to 10 customizable html display areas that allows you to add anything you can think of
Photos - add pictures of your products and you let your fans to share theirs
Discussions - start a conversation, let fans give you feedback
Videos - post videos to promote your products and show you fans how to use them, you can also let your fans share their videos
Events - announce special upcoming events or promotionsReviews - have your fans rate your products or services
Others - add other apps created by third party developers that are supposed to be used for the fanpage
Once you have your fan page set up you can start focusing on how to achieve more traffic. Your fan page doesn't have to be perfect, it's one of those things where the more participation you are able to receive, the better the content. The key is to start small and watch it grow and develop over time. Once you are able to better understand your fans, you can think more creatively about what to include on your Facebook fanpage. You can create exclusive coupons just for your fans. You can also start a fun contest for your fans as a promotional tool where the winner gets something for free. You should think of as many creative and fun Facebook marketing ideas to get more participation on your fanpage.
Advertisements are another great Facebook marketing tactic to get people to take notice of your brand. However Facebook advertisements are in many ways significantly different from other kinds of advertisements. The advertisements on Facebook can't focus on direct sales like Google AdWords ads can. The reason is because they each have an entirely different type of audience. The group on Facebook are there to hang out whereas the people on Google tend to already know what they want and actively search for it. When trying to reach a Facebook user, you can't push your products on them. You have to first give them a reason to become a fan and then build a relationship with them. As soon as the relationship is there, try finding interactive ways to keep your products and your brand fresh in their mind, and the chances of them becoming a customer is far greater. What you need to do is apply to become an advertiser on the Facebook network and create banner ads that link back to your Facebook fan page instead of your ecommerce site.
Most recently, an increasingly popular Facebook marketing technique is direct selling. Since selling directly through Facebook is now all the rage, there is no reason for you not to do it. The big name retailers are just beginning to make their fan pages even more interactive by listing their products on there. The ones that have already created a large community are finding that merging e-commerce\ecommerce with Facebook can be very profitable.
If you own an online business or are thinking of starting one and you have not tried Facebook marketing yet then you better start now. The first thing you must do is build a Facebook fanpage. It is fast and easy, simply look for the link on their website and complete the requested information. Once that is done, it's time to really begin customizing your page in a unique way that will draw people in and get them to become fans. Below is a list of features on the fan page and how you can use it to promote your business.
Wall - have fans leave comments in this area, share their thoughts, help make suggestions, ask a question, etc.
Info - write a description of your business, make sure it's catchy and remember to speak to your audience in a way that they will like
Notes - share the latest news on your e-commerce business, announce promotions, etc.
FBML - create up to 10 customizable html display areas that allows you to add anything you can think of
Photos - add pictures of your products and you let your fans to share theirs
Discussions - start a conversation, let fans give you feedback
Videos - post videos to promote your products and show you fans how to use them, you can also let your fans share their videos
Events - announce special upcoming events or promotionsReviews - have your fans rate your products or services
Others - add other apps created by third party developers that are supposed to be used for the fanpage
Once you have your fan page set up you can start focusing on how to achieve more traffic. Your fan page doesn't have to be perfect, it's one of those things where the more participation you are able to receive, the better the content. The key is to start small and watch it grow and develop over time. Once you are able to better understand your fans, you can think more creatively about what to include on your Facebook fanpage. You can create exclusive coupons just for your fans. You can also start a fun contest for your fans as a promotional tool where the winner gets something for free. You should think of as many creative and fun Facebook marketing ideas to get more participation on your fanpage.
Advertisements are another great Facebook marketing tactic to get people to take notice of your brand. However Facebook advertisements are in many ways significantly different from other kinds of advertisements. The advertisements on Facebook can't focus on direct sales like Google AdWords ads can. The reason is because they each have an entirely different type of audience. The group on Facebook are there to hang out whereas the people on Google tend to already know what they want and actively search for it. When trying to reach a Facebook user, you can't push your products on them. You have to first give them a reason to become a fan and then build a relationship with them. As soon as the relationship is there, try finding interactive ways to keep your products and your brand fresh in their mind, and the chances of them becoming a customer is far greater. What you need to do is apply to become an advertiser on the Facebook network and create banner ads that link back to your Facebook fan page instead of your ecommerce site.
Most recently, an increasingly popular Facebook marketing technique is direct selling. Since selling directly through Facebook is now all the rage, there is no reason for you not to do it. The big name retailers are just beginning to make their fan pages even more interactive by listing their products on there. The ones that have already created a large community are finding that merging e-commerce\ecommerce with Facebook can be very profitable.
How would you like to automatically list your products on your Facebook fan page? Sell your products directly to people who are clearly interested in what you have to offer. It can easily be done using integrated Facebook marketing, a feature that merges your ecommerce site with Facebook seamlessly.
What you need is a full service all-in-one hosting, design, and marketing software made specifically for e-commerce businesses. One that lets you set up your store in minutes, and provides powerful tools to not only promote your store on Facebook, but also help with SEO, product marketing and mobile commerce. Check out the best possible e-commerce solutions available at http://www.makeanonlinestore.com and try them out yourself absolutely free, no credit card required!
What you need is a full service all-in-one hosting, design, and marketing software made specifically for e-commerce businesses. One that lets you set up your store in minutes, and provides powerful tools to not only promote your store on Facebook, but also help with SEO, product marketing and mobile commerce. Check out the best possible e-commerce solutions available at http://www.makeanonlinestore.com and try them out yourself absolutely free, no credit card required!