Facebook and your Small Business

More and more small businesses are using Facebook to help them market their products and services to their target audiences. In addition to just setting up a Facebook account, you can take advantage of Facebook Pages, and use the "vanity" URL, www.facebook.com/yournamehere. This allows you to be visible even to folks who aren't Facebook members, to be found in a Google search, and to stay in close contact with customers who become your fans.

Here are some recent articles about how business are using Facebook and other social media in their marketing efforts. The Chicago Tribune and the L. A. Times ran this story, "Facebook becoming big friend of small businesses," in October, and the New York Times's Kermit Pattison has suggestions on "How to Market Your Business With Facebook." The Facebook site also has information about how to use their site to your advantage, on its Advertising page, and on its Facebook Pages page. The Evanston Public Library has recently added the title, "The Facebook era : tapping online social networks to build better products, reach new audiences, and sell more stuff," by Clara Chung-wai Shih, to its collection.

For even more help in learning how to use Facebook for your business, try this YouTube video, "Facebook 4 Business Free Module."

Evanston businesses in the news

Several Evanston small businesses made the news during October! PRWire reports that the Joel Warady Group, a boutique marketing consulting group, placed 15th on Brill Street's Top 50 Generation Y Employer Program Chicago. MightyNest.com, a resource to purchase and learn more about safe and environmentally friendly products, was featured int a Sun-Times article recently. The Chicagoist website has featured Neu Uber Burger and Edzo's Burger Shop in the last several weeks. And, finally, an article from the Chicago Tribune that featured Winthrop Properties.