Get with the Facebook Program!

So, what’s the craze with Facebook ? Most people these days are familiar with Facebook or already have a Facebook profile. If not, please allow me to bring you into the fold. Facebook was started in 2004 by a few Harvard brainiacs with the intention of linking students together to help them get to know one another. Initially, it was limited to students and is now open to anyone over 13. It has become a global social networking phenomenon with over 300 million active users (yep 300 million, that’s roughly the population of the United States!) that use the site to connect with friends, family, schools, organizations and other groups.

So, why is Facebook important? Facebook is a great social networking tool for both individuals and businesses, but the format is a little different for both. As an individual, you can set up a personal profile to share your information and connect with friends via your wall (this is your main page for posting your comments visible for others to see). As a business owner, you can set up a “fan page” dedicated to your business activities. For example, if you’re an artist, you can have a personal profile about you and your interests and then have a fan page for your gallery.

So, what do you do first? Well, the first thing you should do is sign up your individual profile on Facebook and start finding your friends because that’s super easy. You can search on a name or email address or just import your contact list into Facebook and see how many of your current friends are using Facebook. As an individual, the best people to connect with are your friends and family because we all know these are the people that support our creative passions the most. Just as well, you can make new friends by joining Facebook groups to socialize with other artists, crafters, or anyone with the same interests as your own. This becomes a great way to share and learn new ideas, expand your creative appetite, and hopefully acquire new business. Remember, business is about relationships and building great relationships on Facebook can create good business for your future. For example, I make handmade jewelry and I have had several friends contact me through Facebook to request a custom jewelry design for their wedding and of course, I happily oblige.

With the explosion of Facebook and the ability to make a personal connection with so many people and with no borders (yep, it’s global!), there are many creative ways to utilize such a popular network for a business as well and it all starts with the creation of your “fan page”. From here, you can run promotions, announce new products, promote an event, create ads, and even create a poll (survey) to test an idea you’ve been thinking of or just gather some quality feedback. This gives you a direct avenue to interact with your customers and help you create your next product or service with your customers’ ideas in mind. We all know that a personal connection with your customers or potential customers is the most important thing.

So, go take a few minutes and connect with the 300 million other users on Facebook and don’t forget to join Meylah’s Fan Page while you’re at it! We love to share information and hear from our fans too!