Facebook started in 2004 as a social network for college students and has since expanded globally. It is the most popular social media site with over 500 million active users who spend over 700 billion minutes per month on the site. Facebook allows businesses to create pages and groups to promote their brand, connect with customers, and gain exposure to both registered and unregistered users. It provides analytics to understand audiences and offers advertising options to reach new customers.

1. The most trafficked social media site in the world!

3. Facebook allows users to connect and share information in a variety of ways.

4. An effective and low-cost way of social marketing. What is Facebook?

5. About Facebook Facebook started in 2004 as a closed community for college students (requiring users to sign up with a valid university email address) but has since expanded beyond that to high schools, corporations, regional networks, or any user across the world. Statistics from Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/press/info.php?statistics): More than 500 million active users 50% of our active users log on to Facebook in any given day Average user has 130 friends People spend over 700 billion minutes per month on Facebook There are over 900 million objects that people interact with (pages, groups, events and community pages) Average user is connected to 80 community pages, groups and events More than 30 billion pieces of content (web links, news stories, blog posts, notes, photo albums, etc.) shared each month. http://www.kenburbary.com/2010/01/dispelling-the-youth-myth-five-useful-facebook-demographic-statistics/#

7. People are spending more than 4 hours extra on Facebook compared to leading sites like Yahoo and Google.

8. Facebook has surpassed Yahoo, now taking it’s place as the #2 most popular site in the U.S.

9. Facebook drew in nearly 134 million unique visitors in January 2010.

10. In January, 11.6% of all time spent online was spent on Facebook, compared to 4.25% for Yahoo and 4.1% for Google.Facebook = 44% Yahoo = 18% Twitter = 29% My Space = 9%

12. Get found by people who are searching for your products or services

13. Connect and engage with current and potential customers

14. Create a community around your business

15. Promote other content you create, including webinars, blog articles, or other resources

16. It can also be used for recruiting employees, seeking partners and looking for customers by meeting friends of friends who increase your contacts.

17. A great tool for visualizing new business and competitors.

18. Users can access your profile and Facebook Pages from Google which increases the presence of your business on the web. How Facebook can lend a hand to your business

20. Business accounts have limited access to information on the site. An individual with a business account can view all the Pages and Social Ads that they have created, however they will not be able to view the profiles of users on the site or other content on the site that does not live on the Pages they administer.

21. In addition, business accounts cannot be found in search and cannot send or receive friend requests.*You may create a business account if you don't already have a standard Facebook account. Maintaining multiple accounts, regardless of the purpose, is a violation of Facebook’s Terms of Use. If you already have a personal account, they will not allow you to create business accounts for any reason. You can manage all the Pages and Socials Ads that you create on your personal account.*

24. As long as a group is under 5,000 members, group administrators can send messages to the group members that will appear in their inboxes.

25. Groups are set up for more personal interaction.

27. When you send a message to Facebook Page members, they will only receive an update notification.

28. There is no limit on how many fans you may send an update to, or how many total fans a Page can have.

30. Analyze market research through opinion and mini-surveys to review business target and share the data to gain credibilty. Publish and share pictures to give an active profile image of your company. Obtain a Facebook vanity URL so that people can find you easily. Add your Facebook URL to your email signature and any marketing collateral. Post business updates on your wall. Share useful articles and valuable resources that interest customers and prospects on your wall to establish credibility. Research prospects before meeting or contacting them. Before traveling, check contact locations so you can meet with those in the city where you’re heading. Use Find Friends for suggestions of other people you may know to expand your network even further. Look for mutual contacts on you contact’s friends lists.

31. 11. Market your products by posting discounts and package deals. 12. Join network, industry and alumni groups related to your business. 13. Update your page or group on a regular basis with helpful information and answers to questions. 14. Post upcoming events including webinars, conferences and other programs where you or someone from your company will be present. 15. Add basic information to the group or fan page such as links to the company site, address, newsletter subscription information, etc. 16. Suggest Friends to clients and colleagues – by helping them, you establish trust. 17. Advertise new products or services in your business group or page. 18. Be unique – Invest time and resources into a great group or page. 19. Advertise Contests every once in a while. 20. Tag fans in photos – Adds a nice social hook to your group or page. Keep at it to ensure your page or group is always up to date and it helps to keep people interested in your business or product!

33. Friend Wheel to detect who are friends with whom.

34. Business Cards and Professional Profile

35. My Company’s Hiring