Some tips for Facebook marketing (on the cheap)

It's not exactly news that social media is big news for marketing. In fact, it seems to be all that some magazines and blogs talk about!

But for all the buzz, is it worth the time and effort and opportunity cost?

You see, social media marketing LOOKS free. But for anyone who's had a crack at it, you'll know it's extremely TIME intensive. It's also a slow build - especially if your business is not in a "hot" space, like fashion or music.

I've yet to see a case where social media was a huge marketing lead generation tool for business - but that doesn't mean it isn't happening. What I have seen work well is community building and "engagement" in the social media space. It's also hit the point where if you're NOT in the social media space, you look like you're 'old school'.

So with that in mind, are there tools out there to help you? Luckily, yes - and they're a lot cheaper to access than they were a year or two ago.

TOOLS

I've used Lujure.com and Woobox.com.

All are multi-purpose and have quite low subscription levels - from free to around $30 a month on average.

I've used Lujure to build a landing page inside a Facebook page - so that instead of landing on the generic wall, you can link to a particular tab that's specific to the promotion you're running.

And I've used Woobox to run a promotion inside Facebook.

Both have been relatively easy to use and are worth trying out. (You will need to invest in some graphic design for images though - otherwise your promotions will look too homemade).

TIPS

Some other things you may not know about Facebook marketing but you might want to try:

• You can claim a USERNAME for a page (sometimes called a vanity URL). So instead of the "messy" URL that Facebook will auto-generate for you, you can have something like: Facebook.com/WiggyBusiness.
• If you post images, you're more likely to be "liked" or shared. So avoid text based "updates" only. Why do you want people to click "like"? Because it improves your chance of being seen by the person and their friends.
• The more you post, the more likely you are to continue to collect fans. Once a week is not enough. Several times a day is better. As is posting outside business hours, as this is when most people check Facebook.
• Timeline gives you much great visual impact - and soon you'll HAVE to use it. So put some thought into your large image and profile pic.