The Social Web – Facebook

This past year has seen a real fight for dominance between what’s known as the Search web (Google, Yahoo, Bing) VS the Social Web (Facebook, Twitter), and the social web seems to be taking over faster than anybody could have expected. Unsurprisingly, it turns out that people have chosen to pay attention to what their real friends and associates are doing over being spoon-fed news and search results based on algorithms that appear random to most users. The freedom of expression seen in the social web is benefiting people with genuinely creative ideas, and also businesses who embrace the likable, creative aspect of their own products.

With the introduction of services like Facebook Places, the “Like” System, and Fan Pages, Facebook has created it’s own web ecosystem where there’s almost no reason at all to ever leave Facebook. This collection of services is becoming so powerful at creating interest and driving traffic that social media experts have found that putting together a proper social media presence will land more relevant visitors at your web page faster than Search Traffic from Google, Yahoo or Bing.

People naturally want to interact with each other, and opening the doors for people to interact with you in an environment that they are comfortable with is one of the most important things you can do for your brand right now. Here’s an overview of the most popular Facebook services that you can use to enhance your brand presence.

Facebook Places

Facebook Places gives businesses with a real storefront a chance for Facebook users to find services, restaurants, events and much more in their local area. Better yet, if a user chooses to “Check-In” to a Places location using a smartphone application, all of their friends are notified just as if they posted a status update. Facebook Places makes it a lot easier for friends to get together at a single location, and does wonders for businesses who take advantage of their listings with promotions and coupons.

Facebook Pages

Pages are basically mini-websites in themselves, you can post status updates to keep fans updated, create picture galleries, announce coupons and special offers, and they also provide an opportunity for visitors to “Like” your page. Facebook pages can be used for Personal projects, Business, or even individual products, the more creative you are with your page, the better your reception will be. As a bonus, thanks to Facebook’s huge respect in every search engine, they rank near the top almost every time. Custom Facebook Page frames are also allowed, so if you want to have your entire web presence on Facebook instead of a separate website, it’s possible and even recommended. Check out this site for an example of what’s possible with a custom Facebook page.

Faceboook Ads

If you want to pay to have your advertisement seen on Facebook, they run their own Pay Per Click engine that can have your offer seen by thousands. Facebook advertising has results that are nearly as effective as Google Adwords, and their targeting engine is improving rapidly. If you have a Pay Per Click budget, Facebook Ads might be the way to go.

Variable8 provides social media services to anyone who wants to improve their Facebook presence, we’ll even help you connect your Facebook account to Twitter and your .com website, a tactic which can easily double your web traffic and help build your fanbase at the same time. Contact us if you’d like to know more.