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Library of Congress Control Number: 2018937407
ISBN 978-1-119-47621-4
ISBN 978-1-119-47620-7 (ebk); ISBN 978-1-119-47637-5 (ebk)
Facebook® Marketing For Dummies®
To view this book's Cheat Sheet, simply go to www.dummies.com and search for “Facebook Marketing For Dummies Cheat Sheet” in the Search box.
Introduction
With more than 2 billion active users — including more than 1 billion who log in every day — Facebook has become a virtual world unto itself. Harvard dropout Mark Zuckerberg started Facebook as a dorm-room exercise to extend the popular printed college directory of incoming freshmen online, but he has since developed it into an international organization employing more than 7,000 programmers, graphic artists, and marketing and business development executives, with offices across the United States as well as in Dublin, London, Milan, Paris, Stockholm, Sydney, and Toronto.
For many people, Facebook is a social experience, a place to reconnect with an old college chum or poke a new friend. But in April 2007, Zuckerberg did something so revolutionary that its aftershocks are still being felt throughout the business web. He opened his virtual oasis to allow anyone with a little programming knowledge to build applications that take advantage of the platform’s social graph (network architecture). In that open software act, Facebook redefined the rules for marketers looking to gain access to social networks, and it will never be business as usual again.
About This Book
Facebook Marketing For Dummies, 6th Edition, provides you, the marketer, with an in-depth analysis of the strategies, tactics, and techniques available to you so that you can leverage the Facebook community and achieve your business objectives. By breaking down the web service into its basic features — including creating a Facebook Page for your business, adding applications for your Page, hosting an event, creating a Facebook Group, advertising, and extending the Facebook platform to your website through social plug-ins — we lay out a user-friendly blueprint for marketing and promoting your organization via Facebook.
To help you absorb the concepts, this book uses the following conventions:
Text that you’re meant to type just as it appears in the book is in bold. The exception is when you’re working through a step list: Because each step is bold, the text to type is not bold.
Words for you to type in that are also in italics are meant as placeholders; you need to replace them with something that works for you. For example, if you see “Type Your Name and press Enter,” you need to replace Your Name with your actual name.
We also use italics for terms I define. This means that you don’t have to rely on other sources to provide the definitions you need.
Web addresses and programming code appear in monofont. If you’re reading a digital version of this book on a device connected to the Internet, you can click the live link to visit a website, like this: http://www.dummies.com.
When you need to click command sequences, you see them separated by a special arrow, like this: File ⇒ New File, which tells you to click File and then New File.
Foolish Assumptions
We make a few assumptions about you, the marketer and aspiring Facebook marketing professional:
You’re 13 years of age or older, which is a Facebook requirement for creating your own profile.
You’re familiar with basic computer concepts and terms.
You have a computer with high-speed Internet access.
You have a basic understanding of the Internet.
You have your company’s permission to perform any of the techniques we discuss.
You have permission to use any photos, music, or video of your company to promote on Facebook.
Icons Used in This Book
Icons in the margins of this book indicate material of special interest. These icons include the following:
This icon points out technical information that’s interesting but not vital to your understanding of the topic being discussed.
This icon points out information that’s worth committing to memory.
This icon points out information that could have a negative effect on your Facebook presence or reputation, so please read the info next to it!
This icon points out advice that can help highlight or clarify an important point.
Beyond the Book
Extra content that you won’t find in this book is available at www.dummies.com. To find the Cheat Sheet for this book, go to www.dummies.com and search Facebook Marketing For Dummies Cheat Sheet. Updates to this book, if any, are also available at www.dummies.com.
Where to Go from Here
If you’re new to Facebook and an aspiring Facebook marketer, you may want to start at the beginning and work your way through to the end. A wealth of information sprinkled with practical advice awaits you. Simply turn the page, and you’re on your way.
If you’re already familiar with Facebook and online marketing tactics, you’re in for a real treat. We provide you the best thinking on how to market your business on Facebook — based in part on our own trials and tribulations. You may want to start with Part 2 of the book, but it wouldn’t hurt to take in some of the basics in Part 1, such as Chapter 3, which speaks directly to creating a marketing plan and finding ways to generate more engagement from your followers. Also, a reminder: Read about some of the new menus and software features. You’re sure to pick up something you didn’t know.
If you’re already familiar with Facebook and online marketing tactics but short on time (and what marketing professional isn’t short on time?), you might want to turn to a particular topic that interests you and dive right in. We wrote the book in modular format, so you don’t need to read it from front to back, although you’re certain to gain valuable information from a complete read.
Regardless of how you decide to approach Facebook Marketing For Dummies, 6th Edition, we’re sure you’ll enjoy the journey. Here’s to your success on Facebook!
Part 1
Getting Started with Facebook Marketing
IN THIS PART …
Discover how people engage with businesses on Facebook.
Find out how to motivate your customers to talk about your business with their Facebook friends.
Develop a marketing plan that works for your business.
Define your Facebook marketing objectives and key performance metrics.
This icon points out technical information that’s interesting but not vital to your understanding of the topic being discussed.
This icon points out information that’s worth committing to memory.
This icon points out information that could have a negative effect on your Facebook presence or reputation, so please read the info next to it!
This icon points out advice that can help highlight or clarify an important point.