1. It’s Better Than E-mail

Mailchimp may disagree, but I find Facebook to be easier and faster to market my products to customers and prospects. Additionally, Facebook hosts a forum for discussion that cannot be matched by email or any other platform for that matter. There’s also more information about customers who “like” than those who subscribe via email newsletter.

Would I abandon my email marketing? Hell no. We use every avenue available to reach customers. Besides, email subscribers may be a totally different audience altogether. However, email is tired and seems to be spammed more than Facebook. Facebook fans may be more likely to engage and see your message.

2. Search Engine Optimization

The social realm is becoming more and more important to search engine giants like Google and Bing. Google created Google+ in retaliation to Facebook and Bing formed an alliance with them. Currently, Bing offers a more Facebook-centric social experience and Microsoft is betting big the social arena will boost their search market share. I’m not a huge Bing user so I’m not sure the social aspect is intriguing enough as of yet, but Facebook possesses more information about our relationships than any other company in the world. That knowledge is power and will help refine search in the next decade.

Oh yeah, some tech blogs out there speculate that Facebook will enter the search engine market. I would bet my last dollar that “likes” would play some sort of role in the algorithm. It does seem almost inevitable for Facebook to eventually compete for those online search dollars. Afterall, Google started the fight by creating it’s own social networking site, Google+.

Here is an excerpt from Mashable concerning the possibility (written back in March).

A team of more than 20 Facebook engineers – led by a former Google programmer – is at work on a vastly improved search engine within the site, according a Businessweek report.

The idea, according to two sources, is to take better advantage of the heaps of content Facebook users create on — and off — the site every day. With people sharing status updates and supporting brand pages on the network, as well as using Facebook’s “Like” button to mark articles and videos from external sites, there is certainly a lot to take advantage of.

3. Builds Credibility

When I’m close to making a purchase, I find it second nature to check the company’s Facebook page beforehand. I just can’t help myself these days. The number of likes on a company’s Facebook page may not truly represent a company’s product, but it certainly shows their savviness. Sometimes, I second guess my purchase if the company only has 46 likes and rarely posts.

I believe a more engaged company may have a slight advantage especially in cases of e-commerce. The number of likes can indicate a company’s willingness to ensure quality and broadcasts their dedication to customer support. Whether this is true or not is irrelevant because if I’m thinking these things, then others are too.