Facebook....is business using it....

[Power Lunch Club]

I must confess, I don't like facebook...I feel it always has had the reputation of being nothing more than a young person's social network site....so it has never appealed to me.

But more and more of my highly respected business contacts keep asking me if I want to join there group on facebook

I have had a wee look at...still doesn't appeal to me at all....and it seems can see no intrisinc business value to me (or even those who have asked me to join).

Or am I missing something.

Gordon
PLC

P.S...Same applies to Bebo

 

[Scottish Business Owner]

Hi Gordon,

I agree with you. We have an SBF group on Facebook and it has been a spectacular failure. Like you I see no value in it and therefore I haven't paid much attention to it. Unless someone can show me a return on investment from using it i'll be staying away.

 

[alanbold]

Im not a big fan of Facebook or Myspace but when you learn that Facebook alone is the most visited site in the US and accounts for 5% of all internet visits you realise that for certain businesses, who dismiss it, will do so at their peril. I think that these sites offer principally a marketing opportunity for established brands and new brands, who invest the time and money in them. These sites and other new technologies like blogs, podcasts, twitter etc etc are all about connecting like minded people across the world and this revolution has just begun, in 5 years it will be unrecognisable from today!

Of course no one should dismiss traditional marketing and networking but online marketing should be part of most businesses marketing mix.

 

[Power Lunch Club]

Im not a big fan of Facebook or Myspace but when you learn that Facebook alone is the most visited site in the US and accounts for 5% of all internet visits you realise that for certain businesses, who dismiss it, will do so at their peril. I think that these sites offer principally a marketing opportunity for established brands and new brands, who invest the time and money in them. These sites and other new technologies like blogs, podcasts, twitter etc etc are all about connecting like minded people across the world and this revolution has just begun, in 5 years it will be unrecognisable from today!

Of course no one should dismiss traditional marketing and networking but online marketing should be part of most businesses marketing mix.

So what's your views Alan on things like ecademy and linked-in...

Kind regards

Gordon

 

[Idea15]

The problem is, between the major social networks and the "online presence" sites like BT Tradespace, Thomson Directories, and Yell, et al, you can find yourself being pressured to have as many as ten different pages all over the web. If that fits into your business model, fine. But I get tired of the advice (mainly coming out of the hyper-linked US) which defines these sites as the be-all-and-end-all of your business. Not true in the slightest, especially for those of us working in Scotland, where, let's face it, the web is far from being a factor in the everyday lives of a good percentage of the population.

 

[fantasycouriers]

Ask me in three months time. We're building contacts & groups on all the social networking site pre game launch. It think that it depends on whether you're b2b or b2c, and if your product/service is something that has that mass-market volume appeal.

Like any form of marketing, your product has to be right for the medium, you wouldn't try to sell knitting patterns at a bikers rally, and online is no different. Just becuase it's huge doesn't mean it's the right form of marketing your particular business (sorry PLC I don't know what you business is!)

 

[Power Lunch Club]

Ask me in three months time. We're building contacts & groups on all the social networking site pre game launch. It think that it depends on whether you're b2b or b2c, and if your product/service is something that has that mass-market volume appeal.

Like any form of marketing, your product has to be right for the medium, you wouldn't try to sell knitting patterns at a bikers rally, and online is no different. Just becuase it's huge doesn't mean it's the right form of marketing your particular business (sorry PLC I don't know what you business is!)

Okay, without visiting the website site....guess what I do?

Kind regards

Gordon
PLC

 

[Amber]

My biggest blog has a Facebook page and a Twitter page, and I use both of those sites personally, too. To be honest, the Facebook group is totally neglected by me, although it does have a couple of hundred members. I suspect that if I took the time to actually do something with it, it could be a great way of helping me find out who my readers are, and getting into a dialogue with them, which would ultimately help the site. It's just finding the time to do it

The Twitter feed, on the other hand, is set to be updated automatically every time the blog is updated, so it's quite handy for those people (like myself!) who are on Twitter all day long. As with Facebook, I suspect I could be doing a lot more with it, but I do think you can end up spreading yourself too thin: trying to maintain a presence on all of the social networking sites out there, or even just the main ones, can be exhausting, and in some industries the time could no doubt be better spent. In my case, because my business is blogging, I think it's important for me to at least try these services, but that definitely won't be the case for all industries.

 

[Idea15]

Amber's business is a great example of how social media works with the right business model and audience.

LOVE the Fashion Police BTW - you should do a joint project with the Frockery - "Frock Horror" (sorry Frockery, but those Gunne Sax dresses always make me laugh...)

 

[fantasycouriers]

Okay, without visiting the website site....guess what I do?

Kind regards

Gordon
PLC

Doh! Having one of them days!!