As a  virtual assistant and social media assistant, I can tell you, the fact that Facebook is so focused on their community makes it a very powerful marketing tool, if you use the site correctly. The idea is that you want to help encourage people to recommend your profile, product, service, application, and content to others.

In order to achieve success on Facebook, this viral nature needs to exist. And, it will naturally if you create things that others find interesting, helpful, or just plain neat.

Are you unsure of how to take advantage of the viral nature of the site? As a virtual assistant and social media specialist I can tell you your number one goal is to make sure that all of your content somehow relates to the product or service you’re trying to promote on the site. Here are some tips from your virtual assistant and social media specialist.

”    Videos and Photos
Take advantage of the fact that Facebook allows you to upload photos and videos. Make sure that they are interesting and have value to the users. However, don’t just upload it. Encourage people to rate them and pass them along to their friends.

”    Applications
This is a powerful tool for Facebook. It is worth the effort to put together an application that is fun and also relevant to what you’re trying to accomplish. Applications are one of the most viral aspects to the site. Once someone adds an application, they are automatically encouraged to invite their friends to also participate in it.

”    Start a group
If your group is interesting enough, people will invite their friends to join. Start a group that is helpful and informative, or just plain fun. If you do that, it will be even more appealing to others.

No matter what you do on the site, it is helpful to put yourself in the place of the members of your community. What kinds of things would encourage you to participate and eventually buy your product? Why would you recommend something to your friends? Carefully think about your answers and then apply them to your Facebook business.

YOU NEED TO PARTICIPATE

When it comes to social networking, you pretty much get out of it what you put in. We’ve talked extensively about the idea of building a community. But, it’s important to realize that you can’t expect your community to run on autopilot. You need to be involved with it on a constant basis, or hire someone to be involved with it.

If you don’t participate, this will not attract other people to you. People will quickly get bored with the community you’re trying to build and eventually find other things to do on the site. This will result in lost sales.

Log in often. Answer messages and emails. Put new content on your profile. Post to the group and encourage participation and discussions. All of these things are especially important in the beginning. However, you always need to be involved to make it a success.

HOW TO MEASURE SUCCESS

When it comes to Facebook, it is very easy to measure success. Everything that you do on Facebook to build your business relate to building and engaging a community. If you go through all that work to find people to be part of your profile, and to get them to participate, this is not a good thing. T

But how do you know if there is something wrong with your approach or if it will just take a while to really get the community going? It’s a little difficult to measure because it all depends on how much time you’re spending on it. If you spend an hour a week, then you’re success may not be as immediate.

If you’re spending a lot of time, however, the fix isn’t necessarily to spend more. You also need to evaluate if the activities you’re choosing are right for your overall goals. If you change your tactic slightly, your results may change.

So, your measure of success can be gauged by the level of participation in your community. Once people start participating, the sales will follow. If the participation is not where you want it to be, you’ll need to evaluate why this is the case.

Please visit my portfolio at https://www.yourmarketingassistant.com/social-media/ to see examples of the work that I did as virtual assistant and social media specialist.