As of June 2011 Facebook had 750 Million users and counting. The main increase in social media has been Facebook. It currently is ranked as the number one social networking site.
Approximately 100 million users access this site through their mobile phone alone. I have heard numbers that stated if Facebook was a country it would be the third largest in the world. Wow...In an effort to upset Facebook's dominance, Google launched Google+ in the summer of 2011. It remains to be seen where this will end up, but I suspect we will see Facebook go the way of MySpace. It may be there - but it won't be as important in a couple of years.
The other consideration is that a company can't expect people to be receptive to a marketing message in and of itself. There has to be a reason for them to want to engage your company. Think about how you felt when you were hit up by a family member or friend with the latest multi-level marketing program by some nutrition company? Try posting your products on your Facebook page and listen for the clicks as people un-friend you.
Now there are cases when services like Facebook absolutely make sense for business. Some actual businesses I have seen this actually work are:
- Radio Stations - latest contests, breaking news
- Churches - prayer requests, weekly schedules
- Restaurants - daily specials
- Clubs & Organizations - events
- Business To Business Vendors - latest tools and trends
Facebook and other social properties are not a substitute for a good website design where you can present more information and convert visitors into customers.
The biggest concern I have seen recently is business websites pushing people from their website to their Facebook page. The whole idea for a business website should be obtaining new customers. Get your web visitor to email or contact form you, or find your phone number to call. If you send them away from your main website to your Facebook page, what does that say about your business?
Ask yourself the following questions. How many Facebook pages have you seen appear on Google when you have searched for a service or product? How often have you used Facebook to search for a product or service? How serious do you take anything you find on Facebook?
See what I mean.... most of the world will still revert back to Google to find a product or service. So unless you are entertainment star or a business that Facebook fits, it's ok to have a page, I just wouldn't spend a lot of time on it.
