Bud E. Smith - Sams Teach Yourself Facebook for Business in 10 Minutes: Covers Facebook Places, Facebook Deals and Facebook Ads (Sams Teach Yourself -- Minutes)

800 East 96th Street, Indianapolis, Indiana 46240

Sams Teach Yourself Facebook for Business in 10 Minutes
Copyright 2011 by Pearson Education, Inc.

All rights reserved. No part of this book shall be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without written permission from the publisher. No patent liability is assumed with respect to the use of the information contained herein. Although every precaution has been taken in the preparation of this book, the publisher and author assume no responsibility for errors or omissions. Nor is any liability assumed for damages resulting from the use of the information contained herein.

ISBN-13: 978-0-672-33555-6
ISBN-10: 0-672-33555-7

Editor-in-Chief
Greg Wiegand

Executive Editor
Rick Kughen

Development Editor
Mark Reddin

Managing Editor
Kristy Hart

Project Editor
Anne Goebel

Copy Editor
Language Logistics, LLC

Senior Indexer
Cheryl Lenser

Technical Editor
Karen Weinstein

Publishing Coordinator
Cindy Teeters

Book Designer
Anne Jones

Compositor
Nonie Ratcliff

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data:

Smith, Bud E.
Sams teach yourself Facebook for business in 10 minutes /
Bud E. Smith.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN-13: 978-0-672-33555-6 (alk. paper)
ISBN-10: 0-672-33555-7
1. Facebook (Electronic resource) 2. Online social networks.
3. Social networksComputer network resources. 4. Web
sitesDesign. I. Title.
HM743.F33S65 2011
006.754dc22
2011009991

Printed in the United States of America

First Printing June 2011

Trademarks

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Every effort has been made to make this book as complete and as accurate as possible, but no warranty or fitness is implied. The information provided is on an as is basis. The author and the publisher shall have neither liability nor responsibility to any person or entity with respect to any loss or damages arising from the information contained in this book.

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To James, who got on the Facebook rocket ship early and helped steer it toward the stars.

Bud Smith is one of the leading computer book authors working today. He began writing computer books back in 1984, the year of the iconic 1984 television commercial for the Macintosh. Bud has written and edited guides to buying computers, books about using all kinds of software, and doing almost anything you can think of online. His books have sold more than a million copies.

One noteworthy recent title is Sams Teach Yourself Google Places in 10 Minutes, a detailed description of how to use the new, free Google advertising service. Bud has written extensively about online business and new mobile devices, with titles including Sams Teach Yourself Apple iPad in 10 Minutes, WordPress in Depth, and Internet Marketing For Dummies.

Bud continues to work as a writer, project manager, and marketer to help people get the most out of advancing technology. He currently lives in the San Francisco Bay area, participating in environmental causes when hes not working on technology-related projects.

The first person to thank is Rick Kughen, who quickly got the opportunity for a book about Facebook from the business side; to development editor Mark Reddin for helping bring the first mainstream book about Facebook for Business into being; to copy editor Chrissy White for helping straighten snarled syntax; to technical editor Karen Weinstein for making sure everything said here is true and correct; and finally to the production team at Pearson, who applied their talents to bring my musings about using Facebook for business purposes into the attractive and useful Teach Yourself format.

As the reader of this book, you are our most important critic and commentator. We value your opinion and want to know what were doing right, what we could do better, what areas youd like to see us publish in, and any other words of wisdom youre willing to pass our way.

You can email or write me directly to let me know what you did or didnt like about this bookas well as what we can do to make our books stronger.

Please note that I cannot help you with technical problems related to the topic of this book, and that due to the high volume of mail I receive, I might not be able to reply to every message.

When you write, please be sure to include this books title and author as well as your name and phone or email address. I will carefully review your comments and share them with the author and editors who worked on the book.

E-mail:

Mail: Greg Wiegand
Editor-in-Chief
Sams Publishing
800 East 96th Street
Indianapolis, IN 46240 USA

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Facebook is the biggest online phenomenon of recent years. With more than 500 millionyes, thats half a billionusers, and growing, Facebooks pageviews rival those of fellow Web leader Google. Facebook has re-united old flames, helped people make new and keep existing friends, and kept families in touch across great distances.

Facebook is all about connecting people. Its a new way to keep in toucheasier than meeting in person or a phone call, but richer and more personal than many email or text message exchanges. People young enough to have used Facebook in high school and college are more likely to stay in touch with their classmates after graduation, for instance, than earlier generations.

Now, Facebook has added new features that make it a potent tool for business. These tools include Facebook Places, which allows people to check in to a specific place on a mobile device; Facebook Deals, which can reward you for checking in to a place; and Facebook Ads, which are said to often be much more cost-effective than the Google equivalent.

Facebook has also improved fan pagespages controlled by a business, organization, or well-known individual. The owner of a fan page can comment, like other fan pages, and interact much like an individual user of Facebook. This opens the door to a whole new way to stay connected to your customers.

After being founded at Harvard at the turn of the century, Facebook just grew and grew. A movie about Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg, called The Social Network, is a big hit, and former Alaska governor Sarah Palin has used her Facebook page as a major political platform, although not without criticism. Friending people and liking Web pages have moved beyond Facebook to become commonplaces in peoples conversations. Facebook games like Farmville have become widely popular.