Should my Franchise be on Facebook?

If you’re looking for a cheap and cheerful way to promote your franchise, consider putting your franchise on Facebook. Here’s why and how…

What is Facebook?

If you don’t know what Facebook is, where have you been the last seven years! Facebook is a social networking site which allows users to create profiles to connect with family and friends across the globe, share information and photos about where they are and what they’re doing. It started as a networking site catering to university students at Harvard, but now has 800 million users worldwide.

Can I put my business on Facebook?

Yes. If you’re a local business, company or organisation, brand or product, amongst other things, you can create a Facebook page for your business. When people ‘like’ your page, by clicking the ‘like button’ displayed on it, they will receive updates you post to your Facebook page in their news feed.

Why should my franchise be on Facebook?

Facebook is where your customers hang out, that’s why! Here are some more reasons why your business should have a Facebook page:

• Facebook is the second most visited site on the internet, after search engine Google, with 400 million visitors a day
• According to Facebook’s statistics, there are over 900 million ‘objects’ on Facebook (that is, pages, groups, events and community pages) – chances are your competitors may already have beaten you to it!
• Unlike many other advertising platforms, a Facebook page is free – you can share special offers, publicise events and tell people about new products and services, all at no charge
• A Facebook page is easy to create and maintain – you can even do it yourself; no need to hire an expert (unless you want to really up the ante with a social media campaign)
• Having a Facebook page can help your search engine optimisation – search engines can index your page, which means that your franchise’s page will show in the search results when users search for you, your products or services.

How do I get started on Facebook?

It’s easy. Go to http://www.facebook.com/, click ‘Create a page’ (you can find this at the bottom of the page) and follow the easy-to-understand prompts.

• Read more about creating, managing and editing your Facebook page

Author: Franchise Finder, Online Directory of Franchises and Business Opportunities in South Africa