Benefits of Facebook for business
A Facebook page has many potential benefits for your business. While some of these benefits are similar to having a website, a number are unique to Facebook. Combined, the benefits listed below can lead to increased sales and profits for your business.
Facebook is a low-cost marketing strategy
Marketing activities that would cost thousands of dollars through other channels can be used on Facebook for a fraction of the cost. This makes it ideal for small to medium businesses with a limited marketing budget.
Share basic information about your business
Your Facebook page is a place where you can publicise your business name, address and contact details, and briefly describe your products and services. You can also talk about your staff, history, or any other aspect of your business that is likely to attract other Facebook users and create interest in what you do.
Raise brand awareness and promote positive word-of-mouth
You can increase your business's profile on Facebook by encouraging existing and potential customers to click the 'Like' button on your Facebook page. Once they like your page, your customers will receive your updates on their wall, where their friends will also see them. This helps to build awareness of your business, and to associate your friends with your brand. Customers can also post positive messages about your products or services, shared on their walls for all their friends to see.
Facebook can steer traffic to your website
You can include a link to your website on your Facebook page. Indeed, many businesses report that the greatest benefit of Facebook is the extra traffic that it steers to their site. Visitors who come to the website can be exposed to stronger marketing messages and, often, the option of buying goods and services.
Customers who come to your website from Facebook are likely to be more receptive than the average visitor, because they already know something about your business and were motivated to click the website link.
Targeted advertising
Facebook can analyse all the information that millions of users enter into their profiles. As the owner of a business page, you can pay to use this information to deliver targeted advertising to a specific group.
For example, an outdoor store could use Facebook to calculate how many men over a certain age in a certain city have listed 'fishing' as an interest. Then they could develop an ad for new fishing lures, and pay for it to appear only on the pages of those people. (Ads appear on the right-hand side pages in Facebook.)