Using Facebook To Promote Specials and Product Launches

Facebook is a great way to promote specials and promotions for small businesses on the web. Using the power of the friends that you have spent time collecting and nurturing, businesses can get a interactive kick from comments, testimonials and post sharing with the ease that Facebook provides. In conjunction with Twitter and Youtube, businesses can plan out a promotional strategy that could put their offerings in front of the eyes of thousands of people.

A couple of weeks before any type of special promotion, the business will want to create small video productions that can be uploaded and shared on social media sites. Videos that are no longer than 2 - 3 minutes in length showing customers giving testimonials, using the products, having fun at past events... anything that creates fun and excitement. No matter what kind of business you have, there are ways to create an informative or commercial aspect to the video production.

These videos can be uploaded to Youtube and Facebook on the day before the big promotion and shared with your friends on their home news feeds. Contact your friends and followers a couple of days beforehand to solicit their comments on your wall in exchange for a special coupon or giveaway just for them. Every video you upload to Facebook or Youtube notifies all of your friends and subscribers to invite them to watch. Each of your friends that makes a comment on your Facebook Wall stating how much they like your business creates a notification to all of their friends. You have now started a domino effect that could put the promo video before the eyes of hundreds of thousands of people.

Your account administrator can leave "thank you" comments in response that will create a sense of interactivity and a personal touch. This kind of buzz is a powerful branding tool that keeps your logos and products on the top of your friends minds and makes them feel as if you care and are taking the time to connect with them.

Facebook's "Events" tool gives you the ability to invite your friends to a special event that involves a specific date and time such as a store opening or a three day only sale. The RSVP feature in the Event tool lets staff keep track of how many people may show up or just to see how effective the promotion is going. And of course, the Facebook email system can notify all of your friends about special events and promotions that can lead them to websites where menus, additional testimonials, driving directions and printable coupons are there for the taking. The videos you can upload to Facebook will create a visual powerhouse of excitement and education that gives your social media followers something to always look forward to from your business.

What other strategies can you use?