Facebook and Business: Public Relations

As I discussed in my last post, Facebook advertisements provide a successful, efficient way for businesses to advertise. But now...businesses are also creating Facebook pages not only to advertise but also to improve public relations. After a business creates a Facebook page, Facebook users then have the option to become "fans" of the business. By becoming a fan of a page, users then have access to the business' photos, links, videos, and much more. Oftentimes, these large companies will use status updates and messages to alert their Facebook fans about a new product, such as Adidas' recent status update promoting their new shoes: the Cities Artist.

And even though larger companies, such as Coca Cola and Starbucks, have over 3 million fans, many smaller companies are also using Facebook pages. For example, WFMZ, an independent television station that broadcasts to eastern Pennsylvania and western New Jersey, has 2, 671 fans on Facebook. WFMZ--like the big businesses--uses their Facebook page to better connect with customers. For example, with status updates, WFMZ alerts fans about events they will be hosting and charities they will be sponsoring. In turn, WFMZ seems to be successfully connecting to their fans--in a recent status update concerning WFMZ's anniversary, many followers commented on their gratefulness for the television station.

By creating a comfortable, convenient, and familiar way for customers to provide feedback, businesses who use Facebook to improve customer relations are sure to generate more business...more comfort and convenience= more consumption.