Modern Marketing Blog

My favorite thing to track in my web analytics are keywords. I am fascinated by the keywords people use that land them on my site. Today I found this keyword phrase in my HubSpot analytics: "what if you don't have a network on facebook". 

I thought it might be fun to write one blog post a week centered around a keyword phrase found in my website analytics. I'm not sure what to call this weekly event but for now it's called "the keyword blog post of the week". I'm open to suggestions so if anyone has a better name please let me know. 

Okay then, onward and upward. Here is the first keyword blog post of the week for January 2009!

I wonder if the person who typed those keywords that lead to my website ever found the answer to their question?  Of course I don't know what they totally meant when they typed those words into Google so I have to make my own conclusions. I conclude they wanted to know the obvious and the answer is: No, you don't need to have a network on Facebook. This is the official statement found in the help section of Facebook:

"It is possible to register for Facebook without affiliating yourself with a network, but why? Networks are so cool. Unaffiliated users will only be able to see the profiles of confirmed friends, whereas affiliated users will be able to browse profiles within their networks. If you're worried about who can see your profile, you can always control this from the Privacy page"

So there you have it folks. Straight from the horse's mouth. (so to speak ;))

Of course, I think it really depends on your motive for participating on Facebook. If it's simply to keep in touch with friends then perhaps you don't need a network. But as a business person who uses Facebook for business networking, my take on the whole thing is that you DO need a network on Facebook. It opens up your business' exposure to a greater range of people. True, it's a little haphazard and untargeted, but what the heck. There's no harm in allowing people in other networks to view your profile and there's no harm in you viewing the profile of others. If you're there for business it can't hurt to join a Facebook network and it can't hurt to make your profile public. Can it?

Let's save that for another post. 

I spoke with a solo business owner this morning who mentioned he doesn't have time for social media networking even though he knows he should. "I'm too busy trying to sell my products" he said. "That's precisely why you should be networking on Twitter or Facebook" I said. Who do people buy from? They buy from people they know, trust and like. Or, they buy from someone who has been recommended by a friend. Twitter and Facebook are full of friends; old, new and soon to be.

The beauty of Facebook and Twitter is they are "social' by nature. Twitter is like a business mingle. It isn't the place for pushy sales pitches. Subtle yes, pushy no. Twitter is a great place to meet people and engage them in conversation. Curious as humans are they will want to check out your Twitter profile, with your website URL, allowing them to follow and learn more about your business. 

I think of Facebook as more of a town square. It's a place where friends gather to meet as well check out the offerings in the marketplace. I can go to my Facebook account and see the goings-on of all my friends at a glance. I can catch up with old friends and check out the new groups I've joined all at the same time. I can see who's offering what and decide whether I'm interested or not. 

The bottom line is this: if you're a small business owner interested in selling online you need to make the time to network on Facebook and Twitter. Granted, there are some online businesses that may not benefit from either of these 2 social media outlets. But how will you know if you don't at least see what they have to offer. There's no debate that both places provide an opportunity for you ,and ultimately your business, to be seen, heard and recognized. That's a key component to marketing.

I'll get you started. Connect with me on Twitter and Facebook.  Mention that you read this blog post.