Facebook: A Growing Asset for Business Owners

Posted on December 9, 2009
Filed Under Ecommerce |

According to a Facebook press release, the social media giant now boasts 350 million plus active users. 50% of active Facebook users log on everyday. A quick breakdown on what that means: 35 million users are updating their status everyday, 55 million status updates are posted, 2.5 billion photos are uploaded, 3.5 billion web links, blogs, news posts etc. are being shared, 3.5 million events are posted monthly, and “more than 700,000 local businesses have active Pages on Facebook.” Those Pages “have created more than 5.3 billion fans.”

With so many users already active on Facebook and many more arriving every minute, business owners are doing everything in their power to attract and engage customers, or in Facebook lingo, “fans.”

The normal routes for building a fan base include: holding product give-away contests, posting company relevant updates (product innovations, product developments, relevant local and national news, sales and discount notices, etc.), answering/responding to fan questions and posts, etc.

The key is getting fans involved and excited about what’s being posted and what’s happening with the business. Once that happens, the chatter begins. A loyal customer base of just a few dedicated contributors can quickly synergize to expand a fan page at an amazing rate or even salvage a low-pressure one before it goes completely flat.

Ecommerce design and development experts at Fast Pivot, have seen their Yahoo Store clients ascend to dizzying heights. Take WorldSoccerShop.com for example, which now has 100,362 fans on their Facebook Fan Page! Upon brief inspection of their fan page, it’s easy to see that dedicated fans have created a very special dynamic: Activity is stirred from within the fan pool, not from a heavy administrative hand chopping desperately into calm waters to make a splash. No, World Soccer Shop authorities need only drop in finger size chunks of news to start fan feeding frenzies.

Although it costs no money, per se, to roll out a fan rich arena like this, it does require a constant watch and a carefully planned growth strategy to make it successful. This can gobble up loads of valuable time, so many companies are now turning to third parties, like Fast Pivot, to develop, manage, and grow their social media presence.