Today I attended a seminar run by the Business Center of Wellington which talked about the top 10 Things every business owner should know about Facebook. It was presented by iMC (squared). It left me reeling considering how Facebook is set to shortly eclipse Google as the most used website in the planet. It is also a concern that Facebook may become too commercial and cause young people to look for a cooler alternative, like when people migrated away from MySpace in favor of Facebook. Like any social media, its a huge conversation- much like a global cocktail party. You can join in and mingle with people who you have things in common with, while happily ignoring most of the dross that inevitably occurs. My take away points from the talk (not necessarily their top 10) were:
- Facebook currently has 500 million users, a number that is set to keep expanding to have more traffic than Google!
- Its one on one conversations that drive social media- mass marketing techniques don’t work as well because its a ‘personal’ space.
- Photos and Videos are hugely important as content and also as a means of attracting interest amongst all the text that dominates walls (good news for me!)
- Content is King. Good content has the potential to go ‘viral’ and explode interest in individuals or brands.
- The people who business deal with are real- its important to have a message that is both personal and genuine in each interaction.
- To engage with current and prospective clients is work time. Much like networking in person, social networking has huge potential value and needs to have appropriate resources allocated.
- People you may meet socially may be great resources for professional relationships in other contexts. Say you connect with someone connected with your family, staying in touch via Facebook or other social media may lead to getting hired for an assignment because you can stay in their minds eye as a current professional.
- Advertising on Facebook is currently under utilized (perhaps not for long), their is an opportunity for companies to do targeted campaigns that reach current and potential clients better than Ad words for example.
- Lots of Communications departments and PR folks are taking action and assigning resources. I saw a marketing staff member from a local government department that I have shot for sitting next to me. Its important for companies and agencies to make a presence in this space, small companies have a great opportunity to add extra value to their offerings that larger corporations struggle with- personalized service and support.
