Facebook - Time Waster or Brand Saver

facebook-prohibited-photo-credit-macplusg3Facebook is the number one social media based on time spent on site. It is very easy to get on Facebook (or any social media site) and look up at the clock and hours have gone by.

It can be a time suck if you let it. I suggest to people to have a strategic plan in using Facebook. Set aside a set amount of time and have a plan on exactly what they will do with their time on it.  Set out a set amount for content, set amount out for commenting, set amount for groups, set amount in growing and set amount out for responding.

A huge concern I have heard from businesses is their employees on Facebook during “office” hours. This is very important to set up guidelines for use of Facebook for business. A recent poll & survey showed, that most employees that were on Facebook at work were just keeping tabs with old contacts and not really engaging prospects & clients..

I believe Facebook is a very useful business tool, because it really is one of the most targeted advertising platforms on the web. If used correctly can be extremely powerful because you can reach your company’s message to only consumers within your target market. So before you put on the brakes and restrict use of Facebook by your employees, Really take the time to make employees aware of exactly what the vision and mission of how Facebook is to be used to enhance your company’s brand, what your expectations are in writing and who, where, what & how they should engage. Remember these guidelines

1. Value Added – Make sure all information is relevant to your target market and will benefit audience.

2. Genuine – Make sure it is in a personal voice and authentic. It needs to match & reflect your corporate values & culture.

3. Listen & Engage – Sit back and let conversations happen. There is a fine line in being responsive and obtrusive. Do not dominate the conversation. If you do, it may hinder other people from speaking. This is not one way. Their voice is more important than yours. You never want them to think, no need to answer that because the company will address that (unless it is a direct question to the company, then be quick to respond).. On normal conversations, I would have a set amount of time before the company jumps in. Then after that time expires the company can reengage, but try to be from the perspective that your voice be heard only to spark more conversation.

4. Marathon – This is a journey, a new way to market and engage your customers. This will require sustained effort and dedication.

So until we are able to get 28 hours in a day, make sure you turn off the vacuum and replace it with a timer.

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Published in: Social Media | on June 17th, 2009 | No Comments »