Your Facebook profile is a powerful tool in attracting potential customers, and yet time and again I see people ignore  these key features on their profile that can drive traffic to their business.

Here’s what your profile should look like.

Ways to attract more customers

1. Self-Employed Professional. If you are in Real Estate or in the Financial industry,  you would normally associate yourself to that company.  In which case, you will be driving your traffic to that company’s main Facebook Page (if they have one).  If they don’t have a page, then that potential is wasted.  As you can see here; 165 people “like” Dominion Lending Center. But since it’s a default page – meaning no one owns or manage this page, these prospects are wasted.  I’ve seen this quite a bit with Direct Sales and Network Marketing people.

2. Self-Employed Business Owners - If you own a business, and you put “self-employed” as your WORK, then the default link goes to this empty page.

Unless you want to keep your business a secret, you should minimally put your company name under Employment.  It works on a default,  so whatever you put on that space links to a Facebook page.  So it’s best to create a business page even if it’s just to give a short description of your company and link it to your business website like what they did here:

It really doesn’t have to be sophisticated or an active business page if you don’t have the time or the resources to manage it.  At least you are there when someone is looking for you.  This solution will at least allow interested people  to check you out.

3. Contact Info - It boggles my mind why business people would omit this most important information on their profile – their contact info.  You want to make it easy for people to contact you about your business.

How To Edit Your Facebook Profile

1. Log in
2. Click on your name besides your profile picture (sometimes, when you are looking at your newsfeeds or “wall”, you might not see where to edit your profile).
3. Once you are in your profile page, you should see “EDIT PROFILE” besides a little pen icon on the top right corner below your thumbnail picture. Click on that to edit.
4. On the left panel – you will see the following:

• Basic Information
• Profile Picture
• Friends and Family
• Work and Education
• Philosophy
• Art and Entertainment
• Sports
• Activities and Interest
• Contact Information

5. Edit your information and don’t forget to click the “save changes” button.

There you have  it, use your facebook profile page to get  more customers!

While Facebook marketing  is on the rise amongst small business owners,  many are still struggling to understand the fundamental of Facebook Marketing.  I still see people struggling with just the basic setup  and making the biggest mistakes which could jeopardize their marketing efforts. Avoid these mistakes:

5 Facebook Mistakes

1.  Setting up a PROFILE for your business instead of a proper business page.  This is by far the biggest mistake that people make when starting out.

Here’s why:

• Simply put, PROFILE is intended for individual people, and business page is for business.  Therefore, setting up a profile for your business is in violation of  Facebook User Terms Of Service (TOS), under  Registration and Account Security point #4 which says… “You will not use your personal profile for your own commercial gain”. Facebook could shut you down without notice and they would be within their rights.
• Growth is limited if you use profile.  As a profile, you can only have 5,000 friends. As a business page, you can have unlimited number of people “like” your page. Send unlimited number of updates, and you can even e-mail them directly.  As a profile, you can only “post” on your wall.  Not too many people can keep up with everyone’s updates.
• Business page offers a lot more flexibility than a profile with multiple tabs and tools  you can use to enhance your brand.
• As a business owner, you should be busy working the business. A facebook page will allow you to assign someone or several people as “admin” to update and monitor your page.
• If you decide to become “professional” later on and actually set up a business page that mirrors your brand, you could loose followers in the moving process.
• People are more likely to “like” a page than accept a logo as a “friend”.
• More work is involved in maintaining a profile.  You will need to manually “accept friends request”.  Whereas, as a business page, people can “like” your page without any additional work from you.

2.  Becoming a broadcaster and forgetting that Facebook is a “social network”. Constantly telling people how great your business is – without providing useful content will not get you the desired result.   They will eventually ignore you, block or “unlike”  you.    Your Facebook page allows you to “attract” potential customers and “engage” with them.  Connect and discover their needs; then look for ways to fill that need.

3.  Having the illusion that people will naturally buy or engage your service without much work from you. If you include  Facebook Marketing in your business expansion strategy, then  you better understand that it will take a lot of work.  Invest your time engaging with people who are interested.

4.  Focusing on the numbers instead of the result. I’ve seen business owners collect “likes” from everybody including their family, and competitors just to inflate the number of “like” on their page, then wonder why no one is engaging with them.  Before asking someone to like your page, ask yourself this question; are they your potential customers? Will they buy from you?  Do they need your service?  If the answer is no, then start looking for the right people.

5. Not investing the time to learn how to use Facebook Marketing correctly or asking for help. You’ve started your own business and your are so proud of yourself.  So proud and full of pride you might think you don’t need to listen to people who have done it before you.   This is amateur thinking.  Successful people know when to ask for help and surround themselves with experts.

Now that you’ve learn what not to do, your next step is to do it right.

How To Set-Up A Business Page

1. First and foremost, do it right the first time by learning the right way to do it.  Even though my business is helping others make a facebook page, I still consult the facebook help page regularly for new updates to stay up to date on any new development. Remember,  technology is constantly changing.

2. Before starting your page, draw up a marketing plan and strategy.  Figure out the best facebook name for your business.  If your business name is too long, you need to create some variation and you may include some keywords for best results.  Now, create your business page.

3. So you’ve gotten this far, now what?  The most obvious one would be to let people know about your Facebook page:

• Let your friends know you’ve set up a Facebook Business Page to update those who are interested in your business without spamming those who are not.  Inform them that regular and interesting updates will now be posted only on your business page, and invite them to “like” it if they want to stay connected.
• Next is to personalize your business page (removing the odd looking numbers on your link”.   Again, the number of characters allowed is limited so plan well.
• Add your Facebook page link to your signature on every e-mail you sent, mention it in your flyers, and also on your website.
• “Like” other pages  and make comments on other business pages as your business instead of your profile.  You simply need to switch identity every time you want to promote your business page.  Here’s how to do it; if you are on your profile, click on the ACCOUNT tab (right hand corner) and you will see “use facebook as page” from the drop down menu and click on it to make a switch.  Do the same thing when you want to switch back to your  profile.

The screenshot below shows where the TAB to switch identities.

Here’s some of interaction I’ve done using my profile and business page.

As a Business Page

4. Use your profile to promote your business page.  Edit your profile and add your business page address under your “contact” info section.

Complete Your Profile Contact Info

Is this helpful?  If so, please click the facebook “like” above or leave a comment below.   Including your website address while commenting is another way to get some link love:)

The other day, a frustrated business owner said to me “I don’t get how this Social Media thing will get me leads!”.

Leads

Social media is not going to bring you immediate leads.  Let’s get that false idea off the way!

The whole idea behind social media is to warm up your cold market.

When you meet someone off line at a social gathering, you normally start the conversation with unimportant topics like the weather, their favourite movies, pets  etc.   Then further along, if the conversation is smooth and you each find something in common,  this connection could  lead to a more in dept discussion about things that matters to both of you.  Maybe you exchange business cards, or promise to call on each other before parting ways.   The result – you moved this person from your cold market into your warm list.

In social media, you are using your offline skills to turn cold contacts into  leads.  It is a medium which allows you to connect with strangers, “socialize”  and make them “warm up” to you.  As in any lead generation activity, it’s a process.

You work at it every day until you achieve the desired result.

Think how people marry their partners.  It starts with a contact, courtship, engagement and then marriage.   In other word – it’s a process.

Sometimes, an instant connection is established right away.  Other times, it may  take a while…:)

Social media is all the rage right now, becoming ever more popular and widely used by small business owners and self employed professionals.  And why not, it’s the easiest and cheapest way to make yourself or business known.

But while social media’s popularity makes you want to jump into action and start sending massive amount of advertising, let me caution you not to forget the key word “social”.

Your objective in using Facebook, Twitter or Linkedin is to “engage” and get to know your potential customers and existing clients.

Here’s a bit of help:)

10 Ways To Use Social Media to build credibility and market your business

1. Be part of a conversation and answer common questions

2. Become an expert and share your insights and expert opinions

3. Share interesting links; either yours or someone else

4. Share your activities; mention projects you are working on and how you are able to help someone without of course breaking confidentiality

5. Know your customer and share things that might benefit them

6. Don’t be shy to commend someone; your customer or colleagues

7. Tell others about your new website, and anything new about your business

8. Ask people for their opinions, listen and respond with your knowledge

9. Identify key influencers and reach out to them

10. Be social and human

I’ve had many requests from clients for a workshop or course on Facebook Marketing and although I’ve done a few on Facebook Basics in the past, I haven’t really done a full course.

So I decided to put my head together and create a full course. I know…better late than never.    It took me 3 months to finally complete it; so I thought.  Last month, Facebook made some changes (yet again!) so I had to test some new features on my own to be able to teach it.

Finally, after sleepless nights (well almost) the course is complete!

Facebook For Business Made Easy

This course is jammed pack with goodies! While it is geared for newbies, half of the course is on advance features that Facebook users are seldom aware of.     I will launched the Facebook Pro in Jan. 2011.

For now the only way to take advantage of this knowledge is to attend my workshop.  I will release the online version sometime either late Nov. or Jan 2011.  And since  I am doing it at one  of my associate’s home-office and limiting the attendees  to 10 people, the cost is minimal.   A workshop like this can cost up to $197 dollars.

The workshop: WORKSHOP IS FULL AND NOW CLOSED

Date: Nov.6, 2010
Time: 1-4pm
Location: Scarborough, Ontario (exact address to be given once you sign-up).
Cost: $35

Here’s what you are going to learn:

• Why Facebook is good for business
• How to correctly use Facebook as a business tool
• Basic settings; profile, security, friends list and mobile option
• Taking advantage of the new Group Feature
• Know the difference between Facebook profile and Facebook page
• Why Facebook page is a MUST for any business with or without a website
• How to create  your Facebook business page and use all features
• Optimizing your Facebook page for search engine
• Integrating your blog and website with your Facebook page

Bonus:

I love checklists! It makes it easy to implement by putting all the “must do” actions  into a list that can be checked off as you go along-marketing your business on Facebook.  So with that in mind, I’ve created these checklists for you as a bonus!

• Disaster proofing your Facebook checklist
• Effective Facebook promotion checklist
• Effective Facebook SEO checklist
• Targeting with Facebook checklist

There you have it. I made it easy for you to promote your business online on Facebook.  You can pay for it online or e-mail me to use e-money transfer.

NOTE: First come first serve.  I am only accepting 10 at this time:)

Sign Me Up!

If you have a hobby and doesn’t really care weather it’s going to amount to anything, then free website is a good idea.

But if you are a serious hobbyist who think  your craft has potential, then you should start with a website.

Why Free Website Is Not A Good Idea

Reason #1: You don’t own your site.  You are riding on somebody’s back.  If the company fold – your website goes with it and you can kiss all your work goodbye.

Reason #2: It’s not professional.  Customers are becoming  savvier and smarter nowadays;  they’ve seen  a lot of well designed websites so your free website  will look cheap.

Reason #3: Ads.  Free websites are full of ads. Why distract your potential customers with irrelevant ads?

Reason #4: Websites is a lot cheaper now than before.  So there is no reason to be cheap.

Affordable Websites With Great Features

You CAN have a professional looking website BECAUSE it’s affordable. For as little as $500 dollars, you can say you are in business.

What it can give you:

• Professional look
• Flexibility
• Marketability with google friendly features
• E-mail capturing feature
• Easy upload of pictures and video

One of the first questions people ask me when I start talking about online promotion is “do I need  website?“  My obvious answer is a resounding YES!

Fact: You can’t market your business online without a website.

If you want people to find you online – you  most definitely need  a website.  It doesn’t matter if you are a big business or small.  You need it more if you are small and struggling.   People want proof that you are real.  If they can’t find you on Google, you don’t exist!

Benefits Of A Website

Having a website conveys that you are a legitimate business professional.  Most people check your business online after meeting you to see if you are someone to do business with.   There are tons of obvious benefits in having a website but here’s my top 8:

1. You need a place to send people over to get more information about your product or business.  It’s your store front, your office, your business card, your flyer and  personal maitre d’.
2. A website can add credibility, build authority and present a professional image.
3. Present and display your service or products.
4. If done correctly, your website  can “attract” people from the search engines such as Google and yahoo. In other words, people who are looking for your products or similar products will find you. Getting you prospects while you are sleeping.
5. Allows your business to be  open to the world 24/7, doing the prospecting, and interaction for you.  You can reach people far and wide with little work once your site is set up.
6. Do customer service, and gather valuable information for lead generation.
7. A place to put testimonial to add “social proof” and authority.
8. Referral – people can easily refer your business to their friends with a click of a button.

Cost Of A Website

Over the last 5 years, the cost of web design has dramatically decreased due to competitions and technological advancement.  Five years ago,  you needed at least a couple of thousands to pay someone to do it.  Now a site can cost from $500 upward to as much as $5000.00.  My first website cost me $3000.00 7 years ago and I recently had it re-design for half that price.

Nowadays, it is totally possible to get awebsite done for under $600.00 depending on the elements you want to include in your website.

3 Things To Get You Started

1. Register your domain name. Once you decide that you need a website, the first thing you need to do is to register a domain name.  This is your business name online.  Self-employed professionals, people in direct sales, or network marketing can either use their names or a variation of their companies.  But I highly suggest using your name in case you change your business later on. Don’t forget – this is an asset and an intellectual property.

Registering your domain name is really simple and easy.  Don’t let anyone else register it for you because you can lose control of your domain if something happens between you and that person.

Check out my favourites for the companies I use for domain registration.

2. Find a host for your website. Choose a company to host your site (to house it on the web).   Sometimes, a domain registrar company offer hosting services as well and can have a domain and hosting package. But I don’t recommend it.

3. Do It Yourself or Hire A Web Designer.   You have two options:

a) Learn how to do it and create your own. If you have a bit of technical background, it should not be hard to learn.  There are courses online where you can learn how to create your simple website.

b) Pay someone to do it.  The easiest and fastest way to get a website up and running is to hire a pro to do it for you while you focus on what you do best.

Our sister website Avanze can help you create your dream website without breaking the bank and with very little technical knowledge.  Call them today!

Additional Resource:

What Makes A Good Website

The old ways of building your prospect list is to talk to as many people as you can, then collect their names and phone numbers to compile a list.   Spend money creating and mailing postcards, or letters to your list hoping to attract their interest.   Or you can also do cold calling and build up your list.

If you  are like me who dislike –  actually detest – the above approach, then here’s a better solution in building your prospect list and turn them into cash.

As marketers, our biggest prospecting question is;  how do you get  people’s attention for a moment so you can tell them about your business?  If you are a brave marketer,  you probably know the answer – just approach them.  It’s as simple as that!

But if you prefer a different approach,  try to STOP CHASING AND LET THEM COME TO YOU INSTEAD.   Here’s how…

Hook Them With Special Reports

What are reports?  (They are also called  special reports.) They are short reports that contain helpful information on a subject. These  reports are anywhere from 10- 30 or so pages in length.

If you have the know-how on a particular subject, you can write a report that contains valuable information which you can then give away to your customers as a hook.  To get it, they have to sign up to your subscription.  You can write them yourself or hire a writing service to do it for you. There is very little work involved in creating them but they are versatile tools for building a list of prospects.

How To Report

How-to’s as they are also known  are quite popular.  They direct a reader, step by step , on how to do something. For example,  if you are knowledgeable with computer software and hardware, that is a perfect niche for special reports on your website. People are always having trouble figuring out their computers and you could help.

Marketing Special Reports

There are many options for marketing your special reports. If you are trying to build a business list of customers, these special reports  can be use as a freebie when they visit your site.  Put it prominently  with a sign-up form so they have to sign up to get it.    You can also put this on your signature.

The point is to use this as a hook.  For this type of promotion, use a shorter report like  5-10 page report on how to do something  (related to your business or service).

Once they sign up for the mailing list, you can grant them access to the other installments through emails that also advertise your website products. Signing up for a business newsletter subscription can also be the reason to gift a free special report.

Making Money

All of your special reports don’t have to go towards list building.  If you are really knowledgeable about a particular subject and there is high demand for it. Then you should sell it and add more revenues. Reports  can sell for between $5 and $20 a piece, but if your reports contains very valuable information, you can command a higher price

There are a number of ways to use special reports. As you build your library and your lists, alternate the free promotional reports and continue to sell your entire library, creating combination offers such as Buy Two, Get One Free.

While your special reports are helping you build your contact list, they are also making you money. With such a low-cost to create them, the profit margin is huge.

You want customers but can’t spare the time to communicate or converse with them?  Are you serious?

I was speaking to a group of small business owners and although they think online marketing is an excellent way to gain more customers, they tell me they have no time for it.

Business owners are busy, no one can dispute that.  But I often wonder if they want customers.  I presume they have enough and are not looking for more.  When I asked them if they want more customers, their answer was a big YES!

How To Find Time To Engage

You can’t find time – you make time.  There is 24 hours in a day.    Time is there and is available for you.  The  way to make time is to prioritize your activities and make time for certain actions that can contribute to more customers.

But you must first decide if talking and engaging with your customers  is part of your business strategy to gain more customers.  If it is, then consider adding CUSTOMER ATTRACTION into your activities.

Here’s how it can be done:

1.  Join and use Facebook correctly.  I say correctly because some people  join Facebook without a strategy or plan on how to use it for business.

2. Join Twitter and use it correctly.  Again, have a strategy.

3. Join Linkedin  to connect.

Set-aside 5 hours per week at the very least to converse, update and connect with your peers or people unknown to you.

Perhaps one of the most asked question in any business is “how can I get more clients or customers?” If you ask this question to a room full of people, you might get a hundred different answers, but all the answers will only mean and head on to one single idea – marketing.

Marketing is the process of introducing your potential customers and clients to your products and or services that you offer.  The key word here is the word “process”.  A process is a series of actions, changes, or functions bringing about a result.

Target Market Marketing

Marketing also involves determining your specific target market, or target customer. You have to determine their general profile, social strata, buying habits, preferences, trends, etc. Then find out where they hang  out online and offline.  For example, if you are targeting moms; there are mom forums,  and twittermoms is also a popular online water cooler.

Your products or services should then cater according to these parameters to capture a much larger target market. These involve research, tests, advertising, continuous evaluation, networking and of course, sales. This is why marketing is considered as a process.

Marketing Your Business Online

Luckily, with the advent of the internet, this process has been simplified. Unless you’ve been hiding under a rock, you might know that online marketing is the most cost effective marketing strategy these days. Did you know that with the internet, you can actually find out about your potential customer or client? In fact, you can even monitor the number of visitors who browses through your site, their place of origin, and even their browsing history which will give you an idea on what they are looking for. You can capitalize on this information to help you in modifying your marketing strategy. Social networking sites like Facebook, Twitter or Myspace can even increase your clientele by tenfold. Years and even decades ago, this was just a dream.  Now it is a reality and business people are reaping the benefits regularly.

If you operate a small business, home-based or otherwise, you should at least have the following in place:

1. A website that will convert website visitors into buying customers.  If your site is not doing that, you need it reviewed.   It’s worth the time and money and it should be done first before anything else.  A good site can be your research machine, sales team, and your marketing arm.

2. E-mail marketing is one of the most important customer retention actions that is not being used as often as it should.  Again, it is very cost effective.  Once it’s set up, it’s dirt cheap to maintain.  People who have bought from you are the easiest people to sell to unless you gave them lousy service.  Some people using this strategy are satisfied with their customers who keep in coming back that they don’t need new ones.

3. Online Marketing is not just your website although it’s a big part. It should include articles  marketing ,  online advertising, press release, and the utilization of social media networks.