Fifteen Reasons Why You Need Facebook

Why facebook? This article might convince you why you should join the world of social media, where new ground is being broken on a daily basis. Linda will take you on a weekly journey into tools such as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and more as she shows you how to apply these tools to your career as a programmer, designer and all-around Web guru. Learn how to increase your following, add to your reach and refine your techniques as you begin to learn these tools for marketing and socializing.

Fifteen Reasons to Use Facebook

Here are fifteen reasons why you should join Facebook. I'll expand on these reasons in upcoming articles. In the meantime – if you dare – go ahead and register on Facebook and start digging around. You might find yourself addicted before you know it.

1. Social Equity: First, you might realize that Facebook is a social tool. If you register on Facebook and fill out your profile with detail, don't be surprised if your relatives, old classmates and other ghosts from the past find you. Don't let these contacts frighten you, as many old "friends" could prove to be your best evangelists in the future.
2. Develop Your Human Side: Facebook represents the "human" part of your business. If you think that you're socially inept, you might be wrong.  If you can talk to yourself, you can talk to others. Seriously.
3. Soft Sell Environment: If you're not a born salesperson, Facebook and other social mediums will suit you well. Facebook, Twitter and other social media tools are not conducive to the hard sell.
4. Stroke Your Muse: The social media environment is set up for you to give and to expect nothing in return. If you continue to offer help, information and support, however, your muse will begin to attract new admirers. This environment is great for offering tips, a strategy that could bring more business to your door.
5. Develop Your Brand: Facebook is a great environment for you to test and refine your brand. Your friends won't attack you, after all – but if they ignore you then you might realize that you're not offering something of value. Don't be afraid to ask for opinions...Facebook offers a somewhat safe environment to test your business experiments.
6. Syndicate Your Blog: You can stream your blog entries into your Facebook "Wall." You also can stream your Twitter, Flickr, Digg and other accounts into Facebook. It's up to you what you want to share or leave out.
7. Refine Your Profile: When you begin to realize what you can share with others on Facebook, you may begin to understand how to refine your business. If you have a wild and wacky Digg account, for example, you may realize that this account has nothing to do with your goals. A Facebook account can help reshape your other social environments into a more cohesive whole.
8. Post on the Fly: Use your mobile phone to post photographs and content. You can build a reputation by being "first" on a scene or by contributing to topics that pertain to your talents and skills (such as your design work).
9. Raise Your Visibility: By consistently posting on Facebook, you are posting relevant information and creating a leadership position for yourself and your business.
10. Offer Transparency: If you do all the above, you can't avoid transparency. "Transparency" is the business buzzword for the 21^st century, and your participation in this arena will create synergy toward that goal for others.
11. Create Pages: You can create a Facebook Page for your business and steer 'fans' to that Page. This Page can carry a feed, and you can add Flash and HTML as well.
12. Track Users: Once you build a Facebook Page, you can begin to track users and demographics through your Page Manager.
13. Run Contests: Facebook provides an environment where you can run contests to bring attention to your business.
14. Build Applications": Use the 'developers' link in your Facebook account footer to learn how to create applications to bump your visibility.
15. Advertise: Facebook offers the option for you to advertise your business or service. Much like Google Adwords, you control the demographics and ad runs, which is one way to add to your 'fan' base. Learn more about advertising on Facebook.