How to create a Facebook Group and a Twitter account to promote your business or social group.

This article is a quick 'How To Guide' for setting up a Facebook Group and a Twitter account for low cost marketing on a budget.

In this recession based economy it's very important to capitalize on some of the free marketing tools available for business and social groups. Not only are Facebook and Twitter free, they are also some of the most cost effective means to reach out to your audience while consuming very little or your precious marketing budget or other resources (although time can get consumed at a rapid clip if you get too immersed within social marketing, so use good judgement).

To create a Facebook Group:

1. Go to the Search box on Facebook.com (upper right hand corner).


2. Type in the word 'groups' (or simply click on the image provided here or this link: Facebook Groups page).


3. Click on the 'Groups' option in the drop down box (from the Search box on the main page this takes you to the Facebook Groups page).

Groups page on Facebook where you can create a new group.

1. Click on 'Create New Group' (the new group button is located just below and to the right of the Search box).


2. The rest is simply a matter of populating your group with a name, logo/image, description, etc.


3. Set up the moderation rules for your group (determines whether others can join without an invitation, and whether it is a public or private group).


4. Then you can invite members to join your group by sending them invitations from within Facebook. It's helpful to use the tools that Facebook provides to search your online email accounts (Yahoo Mail, Gmail, etc.) for other Facebook users that you know (they don't have to be current users of Facebook, but it helps since you are more likely to get them to accept your invitation).


5. To keep the attention of your members (and to gain new members) you should post lots of content like news articles, discussions, and photos as much as possible.


6. Be sure to put links to your new Facebook Group on your main website.


7. There is a handy free iPhone Facebook application available on the iTunes App Store that lets you view and update your Facebook info from your iPhone. (See how I used the iPhone Facebook app during a power outage to keep in touch with my friends on Facebook and LinkedIn).

---

To create a Twitter account:

1. Go to www.twitter.com.


2. Click on 'Join'.


3. Enter your username, password, email address, etc. (be careful to pick a useful username since this will be your Twitter identity, such as: http://twitter.com/milehighmarketing)


4. Invite others to 'follow you' on Twitter by sending them an invite from within Twitter. Just like Facebook, it's helpful to use the tools that Twitter provides to search your online email accounts (Yahoo Mail, Gmail, etc.) for other Twitter users that you know (they don't have to be current users of Twitter, but it helps since you are more likely to get them to accept your invitation).


5. 


6. Add a logo or other image such as a photo of yourself; this is done from the profile page. Twitter will size the image automatically, but you may want to edit your image outside of Twitter first so that you can get a good arrangement for the square aspect ratio postage stamp-like size allowed).


7. Start 'tweeting' by sending out status updates and other useful tidbits of information like your current goings on at your company or social group. Keep in mind that 'Tweets' are like SMS text messages in that they are limited to 160 characters, so use your letter count wisely.


8. Select other people you want to 'follow' on Twitter. This makes you more likely to gain 'followers' for yourself as Tweeters reciprocate (often a kind of a 'tit-for-tat' experience). You can also add famous people you want to follow like John McCain and Barack Obama or other famous people (there are several others suggested for you, plus you can search for more). I'm following John McCain, and he is also following me! (Well, someone from his camp is, anyway.)


9. There are handy free iPhone applications available on the iTunes App Store such as TwitterFon that let you send and receive Tweets from your iPhone.


10. Happy Tweeting!

---

Jeff Kemp (Golden, CO), www.jeff-kemp.com.

For more info:

Jeff Kemp's website: http://www.jeff-kemp.com

Email Jeff: jeff@milehightechguy.com

Using LinkedIn and Facebook for Effective Business Promotion.

Social and professional networking tools are now some of the best ways to get the word out about your product or service as a business; not to mention that it is free! LinkedIn and Facebook, among other professional networking sites and internet tools available, offer a prime low cost solution for putting your business’s message onto the internet while consuming very little of your company’s resources.

LinkedIn has emerged as one of the top professional networking websites, while Facebook has emerged as one of the premiere social networking sites. What many people don’t seem to realize yet (or at least aren’t taking full advantage of) is that in addition to promoting your professional profile or keeping in touch with friends or colleagues, LinkedIn and Facebook can be a very effective marketing tool for promoting your business. The reach of these networking sites is global, yet depending on your business and the type of content you post, with these networking sites you can easily target your local area as your primary focus.

By creating a LinkedIn and/or Facebook group, your business can have an extension of your corporate website that can be used as a marketing tool. If you have a smaller company you might even be surprised to find that your new networking group attracts more web hits than your corporate website, and that it enables you to reach your local market better than many of the other marketing vehicles available such as phone books or online yellow pages.

These networking groups can succinctly promote your business’s product or services, contain links to your main website, and perhaps most importantly provide a platform for providing collaboration that allows others inside and outside of your company to post content such as videos, photos, notes, and links.

This collaborative posting and managing of content, part of what makes ‘Web 2.0’ what it is today, is an invaluable resource that should be leveraged by your business. These groups are also a great place to post job openings, and can provide loyalty to your brand while connecting current fans as well as current or past alumni (employees, vendors, contractors) associated with your company (see the D-Link Alumni group that I created recently in order to get back in touch with former colleagues). Even old forgotten customers may come back into the picture that you have lost contact with!

So if you haven’t yet tapped into the valuable resource of a LinkedIn or Facebook group for your business, there’s no reason not to get started today!

---

Jeff Kemp (Golden, CO), www.jeff-kemp.com.