Social Media Platforms: Facebook - Part I

Facebook - Part 1

Wikipedia says: Facebook is a social networking website that is operated and privately owned by Facebook, Inc. Users can join networks organized by city, workplace, school, and region. People can also add friends and send them messages, and update their personal profiles to notify friends about themselves.

Facebook is the social network where you will have the opportunity to connect with anyone from old classmates, friends, family, other real estate agents, and even potential clients. If you were wondering about how popular Facebook is, consider this: Facebook just overtook Yahoo! as the second most visited website in the United States, with 133.62 million unique visitors. Facebook’s interface is constantly evolving, but there are numerous aspects of Facebook you’ll want to know about.

Individual Profiles vs. Fan Pages

It makes the most sense to create an individual profile for yourself and a fan page for your business. A fan page is the place for you to promote your new listings, products, and other information. Fan pages are the place where users expect this type of ‘push’ content.

A few more tips on fan pages:

• Fan pages - share pictures, video, blog posts, and any other type of multimedia content that may be of interest to your fans.
• Invite past and present clients, friends, family, and co-workers to join your fan page. The more fans, the greater chance natural conversation will occur on your fan page.
• Ask questions to engage with your fans, i.e. “What are the most important things to consider when buying shares?”
• Check out other fan pages and build on their success. Nearly every brand has a Facebook fan page. Take a moment to scope them out and see what they are doing right. For a start, check out the Custom Facebook Page Gallery. Please take into consideration the fact that these fan pages likely cost each brand a lot of money, so don’t worry as much about the aesthetics of each page. Instead, focus on how each brand may or may not be successfully engaging with their fans.
• Update your fan page regularly! If you are going to neglect something on Facebook, make it your personal profile. It is inexcusable to create a fan page and then ignore it.
• Make your fan page an information resource. Post and link to useful content that will help your fan base with their real estate needs. Becoming a reliable resource
is the best way to build your fan base naturally.

Creating and managing a fan page is a considerable undertaking, but if done correctly, can be quite beneficial for your business. For more tips and guidance, check out the Facebook specific links at the end of this post.

More information:
All Facebook - www.allfacebook.com
Inside Facebook - www.insidefacebook.com
Facebook Help Center - www.facebook.com/?ref=logo#!/help/?ref=pf