In the last post, Why Should I Market on Facebook – 5 Reasons Why – Part 1, I shared two of the five reasons you should market on Facebook.  If you haven’t read it yet, go back and read it first.  In this article, we round out that list with the final three.

3)  Facebook creates conversations that lead to relationships

Traditional marketing is where you have a message you want to share with customers and you blast it out over different channels hoping to reach them.  For example, you might run a newspaper ad or run a radio spot.  You hope someone will hear it.  If they do, you hope they will act upon it.  Since it is a one-way communication, there isn’t an opportunity for direct feedback.

Facebook, and many other social media platforms, allow you to create two-way conversations between you and your customers.  Your customers may already be talking about your company or your area of specialty online whether you are participating in those conversations or not.

By having a two-way conversation with your customer, this allows you to build a relationship with them.  From a relationship comes trust and influence.

4)  Facebook has a longer-lasting impact

Getting a big media spot in traditional media may get you a lot of exposure.  Have you ever heard of the saying 15 seconds of fame?  It is short-lived.  Facebook and social media allow you to create many little conversations over time.  This allows your marketing efforts to have a long-term and ongoing impact.  Would you rather potential customers passively hear about you or have an ongoing conversation with them?

5)  People trust friends on Facebook, but no longer trust traditional advertising

When you want to buy something important, do you go looking for commercials?  Of course not, you probably ask a friend or someone you know if they have a recommendation.  Maybe you search the Internet to read reviews.  For the most part, we don’t trust advertising any more, but we do trust our friends, people we know, and sources we have seeked out on our own, not ones that have come to us.  It is called peer recommendations.

Facebook and social media naturally facilitates peer recommendations.  A friend may post on Facebook about an experience they had.  If it was good, their friends may buy it too.  If it was bad, they probably won’t.

So that is five reasons why you should market on Facebook.  For the most part, these five reasons apply to most of the popular social media platforms.  Can you think of any other reasons to market on Facebook?

There are so many options when it comes to marketing your business or organization.  Why should you consider Facebook?  I can think of five reasons that immediately come to mind.  Below are the first two.  You can read the final three in Why Should I Market on Facebook – 5 Reasons Why – Part 2.

1.  Facebook is where your customers are.

According to survey in late 2012 by the Pew Research Center Internet & American Life Project, 67% of Americans who get online use at least one social networking site.  It turns out that Facebook is the most popular.  With a 67% usage rate, matching that of the 67% usage rate of social media, it is not just the most popular social media platform among users, but is used by almost anyone who is using social media.

If 67% of online Americans use Facebook, I bet there is a good chance that a large percentage of your current and potential customers use Facebook too.  That is … unless … you just happen to market a niche product that only appeals to Americans that don’t get on the Internet.  If that is the case, you probably wouldn’t be reading this …If your customers are there, you need to be there too!

2. Facebook requires more time, but less money.

Marketing can be expensive.  One of the aspects of social media marketing that many companies like is that it can be low cost.  While it can be relatively inexpensive from a financial standpoint, social media does take a large amount of time.  Of course time is money, but social media can be a great opportunity to market to potential consumers without a lot of money.

If you do have some money to spend, you can really amplify your efforts.  For example you could hire someone to manage your social media who can dedicate their time and expertise.  Also, Facebook has many features you can pay for to promote your content and your organization.

So that is the first two of the five reasons you should market on Facebook.   To keep this post short, we have saved the final three for part two of this post.  To read the other three, check out Why Should I Market on Facebook – 5 Reasons Why – Part 2.