7 Great Resources For Using Facebook as a Business Tool

Facebook has grown on me.

It took a while for me to "get" Facebook and understand how I can use it to grow a business. But as time has passed, I have come to appreciate it as a truly awesome marketing tool with application for any organization and any movement.

Part of my growing understanding is the recognition that social media is all about creating or engaging with groups.

Groups are THE secret to creating success with social media. Instead of the old style approach of sending a message to an audience, group marketing involves energizing others to work with you to spread the word. (Notice I didn't say "your word" because a group adopts the message and makes it its own.)

A group can be your fans who tell others about you, or it can be people you lead on a mission to achieve a goal.

Seth Godin has a marvelous quote in his book Tribes that says it all:

In Permission Marketing, years ago, I wrote about how marketers must earn the right to deliver anticipated, personal and relevant messages to people who want to get them. And that's still correct, as far as it goes.

But tribes go much further. That's because in addition to the messages that go from the marketer or the leader to the tribe, there are the messages that go sideways, from member to member, and back to the leader as well.

Groups exist because people want to belong and do. They want to get involved with your message and help spread it (but remember, along the way it becomes their message).

Facebook is the ultimate tool for engaging, cultivating, nurturing and empowering tribes or groups online.

With that said, here are seven great resources for using Facebook as a business building tool by empowering tribes:

1. Top Ten Tips For Creating BUZZ With Facebook Events. Tribes need events and this piece by Mari Smith shows how to create buzz for an event. Even if you are not the sponsor of this event, and EVEN if you cannot attend this event.
   
   
2. How To Manage Your Facebook Relationships With Friend Lists. Nick O'Neil has written this very helpful article on how to organize your friends on Facebook. Just a very helpful piece.
   
   
3. Attraction Marketing Facebook Strategy. This is a very effective video about how to use Facebook groups to generate leads and build relationships with the people who "friend" you.
   
   Note: This video is designed for building an MLM business, but frankly the approaches is so brilliant that I believe ANY business can benefit from it. So if you can overlook any prejudices you may have about network marketing, you will still get a lot of benefit from this video.
   
   
4. The Facebook Marketing Toolbox: 100 Tools and Tips to Tap the Facebook Customer Base. This is just a wealth of information about the many business applications of Facebook. It is practically a library of articles and tools that you can use.
   
   I especially like the section of links entitled, "Free Marketing Opportunities."
   
   
5. Share Your Favorite Marketing Tips and Ideas. This is a group that I started designed for marketers to share their ideas and tips with one another. It's a new group, so it's still getting started (but this is my blog, so I wanted to include it).
   
   I encourage you to join and participate by sharing your favorite marketing ideas. I'd like to see this become a vital tribe built on helping one another.
   
   
6. 32 Ways to Use Facebook for Business. Meryl Evans has compiled a very helpful list of ways a Facebook beginner (or someone just starting to use Facebook for business) can benefit from using it.
   
   
7. Top Ten Tips For Promoting An Event On Facebook. Another great article by Mari Smith, that takes you by the hand and shows you how to set up an event on Facebook and then how to promote your event. I just keep wondering how Mari keeps coming up with all these great ideas.
   

Bonus Article: How To Create and Promote Your Facebook Fan Page. This is yet ANOTHER Mari Smith article about creating and promoting fan pages (not personal accounts) for your business. (Maybe I should have just dedicate this whole piece to Mari).

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COPYRIGHT © 2009, Charles Brown
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