Using Facebook as a business tool

CHENNAI: Facebook is much more than just a networking tool. It is used by businesses to expand and interact with their clients and primarily, Facebook is being used to build communities. Helping the audience understand how to build such communities and effectively manage them to get the most out of it was Kapil Nakra, Joint CEO, Digital Vidya. Conducting a workshop on the ‘Leverage of social media tools from a business perspective’ at the Social Media Summit that took place at the MOP Vaishnav College for Women on Saturday, Kapil explained that the way in which the first few followers of a Facebook page are taken care of is what determines the success of the page to a large extent. “The early adapters are the evangelists of the page. Serve them well and your community will be taken care of,” he says. Kapil went on to simplify the various myths associated with using Facebook as a business tool. “The number of fans does not help a page or business directly because the post does not go out to all the users,” he says. According to him, the energy and time spent within the first half-an-hour of putting up a post is what determines the momentum and engagement it creates. “The main business objective should be to feature in as many newsfeeds as possible,” he breaks it down. He also explained that the focus of putting up the post must not be on quantity, but on creating maximum engagement with the audience. “Quizzes, contests, questions, quotes, sensationalism and humour are some of the things that can initiate interaction,” he listed, laying emphasis on the simplicity of the posts at the same time. Constant response to the comments on the post was also suggested by Kapil, but not at the cost of brand image. A session on usage of Twitter as a business tool also took place simultaneously. It was conducted by members from Echovme, the organisers, and headed by Sorav Jain, Thinker-in-Chief.