Facebook announced yesterday that it was “socializing email” – streamlining all messaging functions to filter through Facebook (among other things).
Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook’s CEO, claims that these new features are not meant to replace traditional email programs such as Gmail but rather bring together communications in one convenient place.
While some people claim that they are not interested in getting their messages through Facebook, I argue that it’s happening more and more. Personally, I’m finding that I get more and more messages from friends through Facebook Messages – messaging that I would typically get through my personal email.
So what does that mean for businesses? Think about it: If people rely on Facebook as their primary source for communications with friends and family, what does that mean for traditional email programs like Gmail, Hotmail, Yahoo! and other web-based email programs? Currently, people likely check email – via computer or hand-held devices like iPhones and Blackberries – immediately upon booting up their machines. If Facebook becomes the go-to destination for messages, these email addresses become less important to their owners. That becomes a major challenge for companies which market and communicate through these email addresses, sending marketing messages, product updates, e-newsletters.
How do you get around it? It’s easy – build up your Facebook presence.
It’s no new news from me, I know, but this new development from Facebook makes it even more important for you to get off the fence and strengthen (or create?) your Facebook presence.
The whys are almost countless. The hows are simple.
- Create a Facebook page for your company. Don’t use your personal Facebook page to promote your business. Ever.
- Invite your customers to LIKE your Facebook page by importing your opt-in mailing list or customer list to Facebook. Don’t just wait for your customers to find you!
- Post information regularly about what’s going on with your business – just as you would send email messages to your mailing list. Don’t make it one big sales pitch!
- Include pictures whenever possible to break up the text. Invite customers to share their photos, too! Don’t forget to make sure they are business-appropriate!
- Share your e-newsletter on Facebook. Don’t worry if your open rates fall – you’re goal is to share the information with your customers and prospects, not just to have strong metrics.
- Use your Facebook strategy as a supplement to your current e-marketing strategy. Don’t completely replace your current methods until you know how to do it right. Even then you may want to use Facebook as an additional channel because there’s never one right way market – every business has different audiences and therefore different needs.
I could go on and on but this is a good start. At this point no one is certain how Facebook’s changes may impact your business messaging but being prepared is essential. As I’ve said before, you don’t want to be caught unawares and see your business left in your competitors’ dust!
