Whether it be for a product or your business, in general, Facebook Pages can be essential in social marketing. With Pages you can display videos, pictures, and have “fans” of your page write reviews and discuss your product. You can also spice up the page with flash and can even use some html. However, it’s not called html, it’s called FBML. Facebook’s own coding:

Another benefit to Pages is fans can opt-in to receive messages from you.

Here are a few other ways to market your product or service on Facebook:

1.) If your business has a blog, import the blog into the Notes section of your profile. This will help keep others you network with up to date on your company.

2.) Create a page for your product or service. You can list important details about what you are offering and message fans of the page with updates.

3.) Create your own group. This can be the most effective of the marketing “tools” on Facebook. You are allowed to invite people to join, post video, post pictures, post links and notes, etc. People who join can really get involved on the group message board and wall.

The great thing about all three of these is every little move you make, it’s posted on all your friends Facebook homepages in the mini-feed!

There is a lot that can be done when using Facebook to market a business or service. With millions of users communicating with friends, family members, and co-workers, it is only natural to get in on the conversation. The important thing to keep in mind when using Facebook as a marketing tool is transparency. Always disclose your affiliation with what you are marketing. As Eric Weaver recently said in his blog post, Social Media Basics for Marketers, “Be very transparent and honest. Consumers often assume marketers are self-interested. By being transparent, you curtail doubt.”

With that being said, the first thing to do is set-up a personal profile and add your interests, your work information, and any other extra details about yourself. Once you’ve done that, you can start gathering friends or trusted contacts.

Next, search for groups similar to the product or service you would like to “market”. For example, if you are a snowboarding instructor in the Aspen area you might join groups related to snowboarding and winter sports. However, the key is to interact with others in the group and offering advice on the sport when needed. How does this market your snowboarding business? Well, the next time someone asks about a good instructor in the Aspen area to the person you gave advice to, there’s a good chance your name will be brought up.