Facebook: yes, but 'why' use it?

My previous article (Facebook: why use it?) was an introduction to using Facebook for marketing your business, giving a scenario to help you see how it could benefit you.

Before we start looking at the nitty gritty of Facebook itself, let's take a step back.

However tempting it may be to jump in and set yourself up an account, you will get much better results if you do some planning first. So, I would like you to get out pen and paper and jot down your answers to these questions.

1. What results to I want to get out of using Facebook?
The answer to that could be more orders or more enquiries. Or maybe you're more interested in building up your mailing list, so in that case you would want more subscribers. Or you may want to use it to have more contact with existing customers in order to provide better customer service. Decide what the best outcomes are for you.

2. Who is my target audience?
Think about who your customers are, or who you would like them to be. What do they want and why? What problem would your products or services solve for them. What are they interested in?

3. What will I post about?
Include your news and special offers etc, but remember that it shouldn't all be about you. Include other bits of information that your customers and potential customers would be interested to hear. Go back to question 2 and what you've put down for your customers interests. Use that to make a list of possible subjects to write about - you can use this for guidance when posting on Facebook.

4. How often will I post?
This is a tricky one. One of the issues that always comes up when talking about using Facebook for marketing is the amount of time it can take. The best advice I've heard is to build it into your routine - decide how often you are going to post and stick to it. If you've got a regular pattern then your followers will know what to expect from you, but if you do it in fits and start they'll never know quite what to expect (in a bad way!).

The answers to above questions can help you put together a strategy for how you're going to use Facebook. It doesn't have to be a lengthy, formal document, just a page setting out how you intend to use Facebook for marketing - why you're doing it, who you're talking to, what you'll say and how often.