“Oh no. Another blog post about utilizing Facebook.” Trust me, you’re going to want to stick around for this.

We’ll start with why you should care:

Traffic: Facebook is quickly closing the gap between its total number of monthly visitors and Google’s. This is an enormous feat.

Time: Using a third party site, statistics were collected showing that users spend 3x as much time on Facebook as they do Google pages.

Growth: 2 years ago, Facebook reached only 6% of the globe. Both Google and Facebook have a projected reach of 50% by the close of this year (2010).

Choice: While the bulk of advertising is spent on gambles, Facebook and Google both display your ad to users most likely interested in your product based on user bios and searches, respectively. Since Facebook allows users to opt in to being a fan or, currently, “liking” your biz page, your updates are delivered to your loyal following.

Use Facebook to your advantage with minimal time consumption.

Schedule it. Like most things, lack of time is the biggest deterrent from social networking. Pick your most likely day and time of the week, and schedule 5 minutes to post something relative to your field that people will care about. It doesn’t have to be about your company, it can be related news or tips, or a link to a great blog post, whether written by you or not. This will keep your on the forefront of your followers’ brains as the “Go-To” leader in your industry. As an added benefit, Facebook business pages are public, so your posts show in Google and other search engines, which could get you more followers, drive more traffic, and spark more business.

Make it easy. For most, social marketing can be like exercising. It’s not a great deal of fun AND it soaks up what little time your day may have. So, make it easier on yourself. Already write a blog? Just post a link to the blog as your weekly update. Are you a real estate company? Give a quick pitch and link to a featured listing. You will be more likely to follow through if updating the world via Facebook is a quick, manageable goal. Much like exercise, it’s better to be brief and consistent than spend an entire morning focused on this task, burn out, and avoid it for four weeks.

Be interesting. The purpose in networking is to develop a strong presence. Those who like who you are will most likely follow you and spread your name whether they are interested in your product or not. It is more accepted than ever to loosen that professional collar and show your own personality. We mentioned in the first tip that you could post news, but it doesn’t even have to be about your industry. Inclind cares about our environment, regarding both the economy and eco-system. We frequently post updates about farmers’ markets or push local businesses and their products. It’s common for those who are big supporters of these things to spread the word and push our company in return.

Not so bad, right?

All you need to kick off a successful social media campaign is 5 minutes per week, a consistent attack, and the desire to push your industry. Your target demographic will begin to find you if you take these baby steps in the right direction. Once you see the payoff, you'll start dedicating more time and resources toward taking advantage of these marketing tools.

Next time we'll discuss twitter and utilizing Tweetdeck to make social media easier than ever.