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Can Facebook be the new Google for IM

by Geekgirl01
17 replies
  • SEO
    • |
After reading a few threads on here it does seem Google are becoming as someone said Greedy and unfair. And is not always direct marketing, if your on page 1 at the top of google then it is but if your on page 2,3 and further, chances are ALLOT of those people searching your keyword will have already found what they were looking for.

Then Facebook came to mind, and I personally think Facebook may well be more popular than Google.
Yes people will go straight to google to find what they are looking for, but on Facebook it can be thrown into your face (and twitter too).
Someone likes a page, your product/service posts appear in their feed daily which will cause impulse buys and attract people to your other products and website.

Do you think that Facebook can be better for getting your business out there more than Google?

Lets Face it who isnt on Facebook

(On the other hand I will say Facebook paid advertising can mount up to quite a bit of money, AND there is the issue of when people like a page sometimes their posts will never show up on your facebook feed)
#facebook #google
  • Profile picture of the author intergen
    I don't think either are THE answer. To me it all comes down to targeting your specific audience where they "live". It may be niche sites or blogs that you would want to focus on etc.

    But as far as Facebook even if every human on the planet is on Facebook I still wouldn't say its better than any other source. I use Facebook as an amplifier of content. Just like I do for twitter and most other social networks. Facebook is interruption marketing, in some cases, as most get on FB to see what their friends are up to - NOT to buy a product.

    Now if you have built a special FB page in a specific niche and built your followers according to their preferences and likes (I have done this) then I would focus more on the FB tactics.
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  • Profile picture of the author nest28
    All Facebook did was leverage social interaction, do the same on your own site. I noticed that now when I log out I see ads from Netflix, soon I think they will think of other ways to using advertising.
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  • Profile picture of the author Geekgirl01
    I guess it's about really sitting there and thinking where can people be found that are wanting my service or product!

    Mine personally would be magazines ideally.......but then thats just expensive
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    • Profile picture of the author nest28
      Originally Posted by Geekgirl01 View Post

      I guess it's about really sitting there and thinking where can people be found that are wanting my service or product!

      Mine personally would be magazines ideally.......but then thats just expensive
      Go to fb, type in your keyword and find groups or pages centered around your keyword, see what those people are talking about, go to forums etc, oh yea here's a oldie but a goodie, go to yahoo answers , type your keyword and see what people are asking, simply answer those questions on your site.
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    • Profile picture of the author intergen
      Originally Posted by Geekgirl01 View Post

      I guess it's about really sitting there and thinking where can people be found that are wanting my service or product!

      Mine personally would be magazines ideally.......but then thats just expensive
      Maybe but I would challenge you to figure out where these folks are in the online space. Guaranteed they hangout somewhere online.
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  • Profile picture of the author TheBlueWizard
    Google may be greedy and monopolized, but honestly consumers/searchers still benefit immensely from utilizing Google... it's really only the publishers (us IMers/SEOers) who suffer from their power, and we probably make up less than 1% of the people affiliated with Google via consumer/business partner entities combined.

    Of course there is business available when using social platforms such as Facebook/Twitter; however, if you have ever done any marketing via social networks, you'll understand that it's a completely different 'type' of marketing than as you would promote via TV/RADIO commercials, Search Engines, etc.

    Personally, when I'm on Facebook, I'm not really looking to buy anything. Maybe sometimes however I'll "like" a business or a niche I think is pretty cool or I endorse personally; but I never really am doing it because I know I'll end up buying something from them.

    When I do need something to buy however, Google will be my go-to choice... because it delivers exactly what I need.
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  • Profile picture of the author MikeFriedman
    People do not search on Facebook for products or services.

    Nobody goes to Facebook to decide which new smartphone to buy.

    Nobody is searching on Facebook how to lose weight, get rid of bed bugs, quit smoking, make their erections last longer, or any other IM niche you want to think of.

    People are not searching Facebook for a new dentist, doctor, CPA, etc. either.
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    • Profile picture of the author Geekgirl01
      Originally Posted by MikeFriedman View Post

      People do not search on Facebook for products or services.

      Nobody goes to Facebook to decide which new smartphone to buy.

      Nobody is searching on Facebook how to lose weight, get rid of bed bugs, quit smoking, make their erections last longer, or any other IM niche you want to think of.

      People are not searching Facebook for a new dentist, doctor, CPA, etc. either.
      Quite right they are not, but if they mention say the word 'quit smoking' in their status or anywhere online - they then log into their Facebook page - bam on the right side is a little advert that clicks through to a website or page that relates to 'quit smoking' its in their face they cannot miss it.
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    • Profile picture of the author nest28
      Originally Posted by MikeFriedman View Post

      People do not search on Facebook for products or services.

      Nobody goes to Facebook to decide which new smartphone to buy.

      Nobody is searching on Facebook how to lose weight, get rid of bed bugs, quit smoking, make their erections last longer, or any other IM niche you want to think of.

      People are not searching Facebook for a new dentist, doctor, CPA, etc. either.
      All that is true, but it also depends on the niche, if your marketing something like car insurance, yea good luck with that, but if you have a gossip blog, or some sort of fun interesting site on movies,video games,rappers etc, you can always get a ton of traffic from fb.

      That traffic can later be turned into buyers, for example, I'm a big fan of "Dexter" it's a tv series btw, earlier today while checking my news feed I saw a pic of dexter, that said the new season starts on Sept 30th, so I visited the site and bought the last season of Dexter, so I could catch up before the new season arrives.


      The fan page http://www.facebook.com/dexter has a store right on fb, but even if it didn't I would have went to there site.
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      • Profile picture of the author MikeFriedman
        Originally Posted by nest28 View Post

        All that is true, but it also depends on the niche, if your marketing something like car insurance, yea good luck with that, but if you have a gossip blog, or some sort of fun interesting site on movies,video games,rappers etc, you can always get a ton of traffic from fb.

        That traffic can later be turned into buyers, for example, I'm a big fan of "Dexter" it's a tv series btw, earlier today while checking my news feed I saw a pic of dexter, that said the new season starts on Sept 30th, so I visited the site and bought the last season of Dexter, so I could catch up before the new season arrives.


        The fan page Dexter | Facebook has a store right on fb, but even if it didn't I would have went to there site.
        Yes, if you have any kind of entertainment niche (tv, movies, actors, actresses, sports, beer, wine, etc.), you can do well with Facebook and some people might even search for your page occasionally on Facebook.

        I'm not saying Facebook is not useful. But the OP was talking about it replacing Google, and people still use Google (or whatever their search engine of preference is) for the majority of their searches.

        Can stuff go viral in Facebook? Yep. Can you attract a ton of visitors to a page because people keep liking it and bringing along a few of their friends that then like it? Absolutely.

        But people are still not using Facebook all that often to actually search for much of anything. If they like a page, it's more likely because one of their friends liked it, not because they went searching for it.
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  • Profile picture of the author Geekgirl01
    True Intergen! My market is a bit of a taboo market which I guess makes it ALLOT harder to get out there
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  • Profile picture of the author Geekgirl01
    I would also like to add that once that FB user becomes a fan on your page, you have quite some time to get them interested and get them engaging with your page which, if done the right way, can turn them into a real fan and lover of your Brand. Then causes them to tell their friends, share your page.

    Not to mention each time someone comments on a picture it shows up in their feed, which can gain more likes. 1 fan then becomes 10-20 fans!
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  • Profile picture of the author Intentional Marketing
    Understanding the dynamics of social networking and business networking,
    the two shall never meet.

    Use the social networks to build a viral post.

    Google is a greedy beast, but when push comes to shove PPC will get you traffic.

    If you are talking about branding, then you have to use them all.

    We tell our clients, it's not option NOT having a presence on all platforms.

    This is something we discuss in our upcoming release.
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  • Profile picture of the author PiAlpha
    I think Facebook has gone wild regarding advertising lately.
    It is definitely a matter of trust and I would definitely stay with Google.
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    • Profile picture of the author mrsvirtualassistant
      Facebook can't replace Google, but it definitely plays a key role in Internet marketing. If you are not using Facebook, you are loosing lots of potential customers and leads. For best results, you should optimize your site for search engines and use the power of social media to build your brand.
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  • Profile picture of the author aadi144
    Facebook will never get ahead of Google.Everyone uses Google to search anything and the services and exact best results Google is providing Facebook can never provide it for sure.
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  • Profile picture of the author risingrank
    facebook will get phased you with the passage of time.
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