To Facebook or not to Facebook?

Are you thinking about a Facebook page for your business? Or may be you set one up because you thought you had to. But now you don’t really know what to do with it.

How do you know if a Facebook page is a good idea for your business?

Facebook makes sense if any of the following are true:

B2C: You market primarily to consumers (vs. businesses). While you can use a Facebook business page to market to other businesses, it’s not a very targeted way to reach your audience.

Network: You feel comfortable and capable of building a strong, relevant following on Facebook ­– people who will either become your customers or who will influence others to become your customers. If you currently use Facebook for personal use and have a solid network already, then you’re more likely to be successful building one for your business. If you hate Facebook or do very little to build your personal network on Facebook, then think twice about using it for business.

Content: You have interesting things to say that would be relevant to your customers, and you feel comfortable posting these as updates on your Facebook page. Blog posts, articles, links to interesting videos, etc. are all great updates. If you want a Facebook business page to work, you have to keep it fresh and interesting.

Specials: You hold regular events, special promotions, sales, etc. that are easier to announce and promote on Facebook than they are on your website. This is where Facebook becomes a great tool – allowing you to spread the word through your network and in turn, through theirs. It’s the perfect environment for going viral. But, if you don’t do regular events and promotions, then Facebook may not be worthwhile.

Community: You want your customers and prospective customers to interact. Facebook makes posting content and updates really easy. And it encourages your fans to comment. This is a unique feature that your website does not offer (other than perhaps on your blog page). So if you want to create this kind of community, Facebook is great for it. But, it does require work on your part to post interesting, thought-provoking updates and to reply to comments.

I’m all about using social media to promote your business. But I used this assessment for my own consulting practice and decided that a Facebook business page does not make sense for me. See if it makes sense for you.