Give your Business a Face

As more and more people join the world of online social networking, businesses need to consider if this new realm is for them. Facebook , the world's largest social network, currently has 400 million active users, with thousands of new accounts created every day. A corporate Facebook page can introduce your brand and support a variety of goals including staff recruitment and retention, audience engagement, branding, and e-commerce. Depending on your business and what you're trying to achieve, Facebook may not be right for your business. If your company has valuable content that can be added on an ongoing basis, Facebook could be a step in the right direction. Start by asking these questions:

1. Do you have the time to manage a Facebook page? You will need to dedicate time and resources to maintain your page. A neglected page is basically a dead page, and can be a detriment to your brand's image.
   
2. What are your objectives? Determine what your business hopes to gain from a presence on Facebook. Create a list of specific goals. Do you want to increase traffic to your website by 25%? Do you want to gain 500 friends by next quarter?
   
3. Is your target audience on Facebook? Chances are your customers are on Facebook, the challenge is finding out their network habits - some demographic groups are more active on Facebook than others, a little bit of research into where your customers gravitate can go a long way.

Building engaging and long lasting relationships with fans is the ultimate goal of all company Facebook pages. Check out some of these great Facebook pages: Coca Cola and Victoria's Secret. With people spending over 500 billion minutes per month on Facebook, the chances of your target audience crossing paths with your corporate page is greater than you think. When you decide whether or not Facebook is right for your company, tell us about it!

Be sure to follow North Star on Facebook and Twitter and share how your business is utilizing Facebook.