When Mark Zuckerberg and a few of his Harvard University friends first launched Facebook in February, 2004, it was a small social networking service. In those earliest days, Facebook was only available for use by Harvard students. Who really knows whether Mr. Zuckerberg had any idea that his social platform would become so popular!
Now, fast forward 11 years to the present. Is there any doubt that Facebook has changed completely from its early years?
For one thing, the platform is now used by people – and businesses – from all over the world.
In April 2015, Facebook revealed they have over 1.44 billion monthly active users on their site, and 65% are daily users. As such, is it really a big surprise that businesses of all sizes and industries have flocked to Facebook and built pages to help them boost their sales and marketing efforts?
Although brand pages in general have experienced significant drops in their organic reach percentages over the past couple of years, Facebook still remains the platform of choice for many small business owners, entrepreneurs and startups. With so many people using Facebook, it is an easy place for a smaller or new business owner to begin gaining exposure, building their brands, and developing their reputations.
Through the help of Facebook apps, many businesses are acquiring clients and seeing success with their sales and marketing efforts.
Are you thinking about building a Facebook page for your new business? Or perhaps you already have a page, but you are not seeing the sales and marketing results you need? If so, then you should definitely learn about Facebook apps and how they work. Many of these apps are free or have free trials, while others have costs associated with them.
Either way, Facebooks apps help many brands customize and enhance their pages and their visitors’ Facebook experiences.
Are you ready to get started? With a little research and testing, you can find and start using the app or apps that will make your business page pop!
Here are some of the Facebook apps that you may consider using for your business page
#1. Custom Tab Apps
As Andrea Vahl states in her article for Social Media Examiner, “15 Types of Facebook Apps to Enhance Your Facebook Page,” the first app you should probably consider for your business page is an app which helps you build custom tabs.
Many page owners choose to use custom tabs on their Facebook pages because of the versatility they offer. For example, a business can create tabs which link directly to their other social media accounts (i.e. Twitter, Pinterest, or Instagram), and/or their website content. This makes it easier for people to quickly visit (and hopefully follow!) those sites without having to leave the Facebook page.
Here are three well-known custom tab apps:
#2. Contest Apps
In the same Social Media Examiner article referenced above, Vahl talks about how contests are not only fun, but how they can also help businesses drive engagement and acquire leads:
There are a lot of different contest and sweepstakes service providers out there. The good news is that if an app is using Facebook integration, you can be sure it’s complying with Facebook’s contest terms.
Here are three Facebook apps for running contests which comply with Facebook’s contest terms:
- AgoraPulse
- Antavo
- Tabfoundry
#3. Ecommerce/Page Storefront Apps
Are you are a business owner or startup that sells tangible products? If so, you can use Facebook apps that will let you display – and sell – your products right on your Facebook page. Imagine how much easier this makes the online shopping experience for your Facebook followers.
Chances are you are working on or already have a business website. It turns out that many of the Facebook apps for Ecommerce seamlessly integrate your page with your website.
Here are three popular Ecommerce/Storefront apps:
#4. Video Apps
In general, people simply enjoy watching videos online. Although many are watching them for entertainment purposes, there are other people who click on videos related to their business interests as well.
According to a recent Business Insider article, online video is now growing faster than any other digital category or subcategory, rising 33 percent in 2014, and is forecast to grow 29 percent a year through 2017.
Needless to say, this is huge – and is also a huge opportunity for marketers.
Businesses that add video to their content marketing arsenal often find they expand their reach online, acquire a new audience, and even close more business. The key for video marketing success for your business is in making sure your videos are visible to and accessible by the right audience.
Although YouTube dominated the online video market for years, Facebook is gaining ground quickly.
In her recent article for Fortune, Erin Griffith touches upon the increasing popularity of Facebook videos. Griffith states the following:
The social media company sees four billion video streams each day {as of April 22nd, 2015}…Almost overnight, Facebook became a video juggernaut. And three quarters of those views occur on mobile.
Adding videos to your Facebook business page, either directly or via your existing YouTube channel, can definitely help increase the number of views they receive…and subsequently help you build your brand.
Here are three video sharing apps you may consider using:
- YouTube Tab
- Vimeo Facebook Connect
- Facebook’s own video app (Facebook Video provides a high-quality video platform for people and pages on Facebook. You access this app from your own personal Facebook page and can then post videos onto your business page).
Over to you
In regards to Facebook apps, this article only begins to touch the surface. As you can imagine, there are many different apps you might choose to use for your business page.
Apps can make your business page more appealing and increase your brand’s visibility. In other words, they will make your business page pop!
Once you do find and start using the right app or apps for you, get ready to see more engagement on your Facebook page as well as an enhanced experience for your followers. This translates into more followers and sales opportunities for you.
And that’s a win-win situation for both sides.
Are you thinking about using Facebook apps for your business page? Which sound best for your brand? I would love to hear your thoughts…please feel free to leave a comment below.
Images: “SIMFEROPOL, RUSSIA – NOVEMBER 11, 2014: Samsung Galaxy S4 in jeans pocket displaying Facebook application. Facebook is largest and most popular social networking site in the world/Shutterstock.com“
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