If you haven’t heard about the power of Facebook then you probably have been living in a hole. It has been all over the news for months. After MySpace started to get a bit of a bad reputation due to sexual predators using the social network giant to gain access to younger users, it seems like Facebook has stepped up to take over as social network giant. While MySpace does some much needed PR repair, Facebook grows stronger and stronger.

This got me thinking the other day about the possibilities of Facebook as a marketing tool. Obviously I am not the first to think this. So I did a little net research to see what others had to say about this idea. It definitely seems that it is working for some.

I think the important thing to do before anyone considers using a social network for marketing is get to know the interface. Understanding how things work and what tools are available is very important. There are a ton of add ons and other types of tools associated with Facebook that may work very well with your type of business. Knowledge is definitely powerful in this case.

Another important thing that I have read about several times is the importance of keeping your business and personal profiles separate online. The main reason for this is that it is very easy to offend possible clients if you post the wrong type of stuff. The jokes, humorous photos or videos and just plain goofing around on the social net should be left to your personal site. Even with that said, it’s still a good idea to watch what is attached to your name these days. On your business profile keep things professional. Doesn’t mean it has to be dry but rather it means projecting the image you want your clients to see. Remember this is a way to attract clients.

I think if social networks are used in the right ways they can be very powerful tools in marketing. I think this is especially true for designers. It’s a good way to get some exposure with your work. Just one more place to put some samples up so people can see what you can do. After all we are in a very visual business. Why not use one of the internet giants, Facebook, to our advantage?

This entry was posted on Tuesday, February 12th, 2008 at 11:42 am and is filed under Graphic Design, Business, Blogging, Articles. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.