Facebook Username

You should place your social networks on all of your printed marketing.  Having a facebook username is vital to this marketing strategy. Just as you want an visually pleasing web address, you want a username that compliments your business name. Our facebook address, www.facebook.com/EmergentCG, that is easy to read and type in.  It would not be easy to transfer with random numbers, symbols, and letters as your page link.

You are not assigned a username automatically, you need to have 25 fans of your page before the page qualifies. First step is to suggest the page to your friends. Second step is to post a link to the page on your personal page with a short message encouraging them to join. Third step is to wait, do NOT blast out over facebook demanding people join, if you annoy or bully people you will soon learn what it is like to be ignored.

After a few days if you still do not have the 25 fans you need, ask yourself some questions? Do I post constantly? Do I ignore other people's posts? Am I social and thoughtful of others? I know these are hard questions but they are important ones. It may be time for a new approach!

Start paying attention to your friends, respond to their posts. Be friendly and be helpful and do not sell your page or your website or anything else. This is a time to be helpful and considerate to others and it is not about you. You need to have people WANT to pay attention to what you are posting and you can achieve that by simply paying attention to them. Remember the Golden Rule? Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. It is so true!

Spend a week or even 2 paying attention to others liking and responding to the posts that you find interesting or that you can offer some help in. Then post your link again with a short post encouraging them to like your page.

Once you have your 25 fans go to http://www.facebook.com/username/ and select your name. You can only do this once and when it is done it is done, so choose wisely.

Roy Magno

New Business Profile on Facebook

Facebook has launched it's new profile for business and fan pages.  Switch to business mode and you are now alerted to comments and when people like your page. This makes it easier to communicate swiftly with your customers. Just like your personal page, you can now like other businesses and their feeds show on your "News" feeds of the business home page.  In addition, you can now converse with other businesses, making it easier than ever to gain exposure in the market place.

It is very important to remember that other business pages are not your billboards. So be careful what you post and how often. You'll want to post when you have something to offer the discussions.  Remember you want to encourage and benefit the other business, do NOT bully. It is good to remember the golden rule and do unto others as you would want done unto you. You definitely wouldn't want another business using your page as a constant commercial for their business.

Link Blog to Your Facebook Page

You've been writing on your blog. You have your facebook page set up and going. Now you need to organize so you won't have to post twice for every blog post.  Let's link your blog to your facebook page.

There are options out there and they don't cost a thing.

There is twitterfeed. It is very easy to use and you can sign in with your blog account. If you have a twitter account you may link it as well.

Or you can over to the RSS Graffiti Application on facebook. Click the "Go to App" button just under the profile and give permission to share with it.

Taking the time to link your accounts saves you time in the long run and that definitely makes this a great marketing strategy for you to utilize. Remember your posts need to be more than just an advertisement. You need to offer helpful information. Think business to business solutions. How can you help another business, who is learning and growing, just like you are?

Give Back

Give back to your community.  Use social media to help a cause you believe in.

What are your favorite causes?

Marketing Strategies of the Facebook Page

Facebook is the  #1 social media outlet. Having a facebook page for your business will widen your exposure within the online world. In the time it takes to read this article, nearly 1,200 new members will have joined Facebook.  For that reason alone, it needs to be a part of your Marketing Strategy.

Start by logging into facebook and then Create a Page.  Choose your page type, fill in the basic information and it's done...well not quite.  Spend some time setting up your page, just like you set up you personal page. Upload your logo as the profile picture.  Fill in as much information as you can, including your location, website, hours, anything that is important for people to know about your business.

Spend some time on the about section, people want to know about you and your business. They want to know what they can expect from you, put some thought into it. BUT, do not get stuck on it, you can come back and edit later.  As you learn what other businesses are doing you will pick up tips and tailor them to suit your business needs.  Do not copy someone else's word, that will hurt you a whole lot more than help you, but you can be inspired by others and then use that inspiration to mold your philosophies.

Now suggest your page to your friends. You will need 25 friends to qualify for a username. While you wait for the friends to log on and like your page, work on your blog. Think about blog topics and keep them listed so you have ideas to pull from.

The Marketing Strategies of a Blog

There are many Blog websites; blogger, wordpress,  xanga... the list goes on and on.  It doesn't matter which one you use, just pick one that you like and then start writing.

Here are some tips to help you get started.

Be consistent ~ If you can only write 3 times a week then pick the same 3 days every week.  You can even set your blog posts to post at the same time on those days.

Be engaging ~ Ask questions to get your readers thinking and encourage conversations to flourish.

Be real and keep it short ~ Write about something you know, so that the words flow easily.  It doesn't have to be long.  The length depends on the topic, but a blog post should not be over 500 words. 


Be positive ~This is not your diary. This is a marketing tool. No one wants to hear you gripe all the time, so keep your posts positive, encouraging, and educational.

Blogging is a way to send out a single message and have it reach an endless number of people. You definitely need this tool in your Marketing Strategy.