Your Customers are on Facebook

As we’ve talked about in the past, Facebook is a great place to market yourself and find prospects for your business. With 500 million active users, if Facebook marketing is not a part of your internet marketing strategy, then you are seriously missing out.

While you can do just fine with a basic Facebook profile, the social networking site actually has a whole catalog of widgets that you can add to your profile which will make connecting with other Facebook users easier and more effective. Here are just a few useful widgets I found that you can use to turn your Facebook profile, or fan page, into a lead generator.

Recommended Facebook Apps

(Please note that some of these applications require a fee to use them. Also, you may need to sign into Facebook in order to use the links.)

* YouTube Box – With this application, you can add YouTube videos to your Facebook profile. This is an excellent way to combine your video marketing with your Facebook marketing.

* Testimonials – This Facebook application is perfect for consultants, network marketers, and other product or service providers. It allows people in your social network to leave testimonials on your Facebook profile. Testimonials are a wonderful way to prove to potential clients that you can get the job done.

* RSS Graffiti – Although Facebook provides a default blog widget you can use to post your latest blog posts to your Facebook profile that may not be enough. This widget will import articles from RSS feeds that you specify. Great for if you have more than one blog or you want to add feeds from other social networking sites.

* Promotions – Got a product launch coming up? Having a big sale? Then use the Promotions application to set up interactive campaigns, such as contests or giveaways, on your Facebook profile or fan page.

* Mailing List – Both Constant Contact and MailChimp have applications that allow your Facebook visitors to sign up to your newsletter or mailing list right on your Facebook profile.

* Social Oomph – This application is for when you want to submit status updates but just don’t have the time. You can schedule status updates to be posted on your Facebook profile at times you set. Great for promoting events or letting people know about new products.

* I Am Green – Now eco-friendly Facebook users can network with other greenies using this application. Learn from the pros and get others interested in the green movement.

* Twitter for Facebook – Twitter and Facebook are like peanut butter and chocolate. Good separate but even better together. Incorporate your tweets into your Facebook profile with the Twitter for Facebook application. You’ll also be able to find your Twitter friends on Facebook and let your Facebook friends know that you are on Twitter.

* Skype Me – Skype is a VoIP phone service that costs pennies to use. If you have a Skype account or thinking about getting one, this application will allow users to call you right from your Facebook profile. Skype also has a call forwarding feature so you don’t even have to be online to take the call.

* Extended Info – Although your Facebook profile does have space for you to tell people about yourself, sometimes what’s available in the Facebook options is not enough. Extended Info is an application that allows you to add additional, custom information to your profile. If you had a personal profile, this would be a wonderful tool for adding information about your business.

* Discussion Boards – Discussion Boards is an application that allows you to run a small forum on your Facebook profile. Sometimes a full fledge forum, like VBulletin, is just too much. And with Ning now charging for space, your options are limited. If you want to run a small, intimate forum for your friends and prospects on Facebook, then the Discussion Board application may be a perfect fit.

* Welcome Tab for Pages – This application allows you to create a welcome page for people who visit your Facebook profile or fan page. You can add text, photos, and video. The page can be set as a landing page on your profile.

There are tons more applications that you can use to customize your Facebook profile.

Take a few minutes to browse the directory until you find something you like. Download my free social media checklist (sign up in sidebar) for a daily to do list of all the things you need to do to increase your following. For personalized help, contact me for a free consultation on the best way to market your business online including using Facebook and other internet business tools.