Photo by Coded

With more than 350 million active users, Facebook has become a natural extension for many campaigns. The self-reporting users conveniently help you target and the entertaining facets of the site ensure that users will check in regularly—about 50% of all active users log in each day. So if you’re thinking about using Facebook as the next step for your campaign, take a look below at some of your options.

Buy ad space

Facebook ads are the easiest way to advertise on Facebook. When you create your ad, select keywords relevant to your intended audience to help target. The Facebook ad designer will also allow you to segment the overall community by age, sex, education, and more, and allow you to schedule the time of day you want your ads to launch.  You can even specifically target folks who are connected to groups or fan pages. Finally, you can choose to pay per click or pay per impression depending upon your specific needs and budget.

Create a free virtual Gift

Creating these small gifts can be incredibly cheap—the majority of your money will go instead into getting the placement on the site. Many brands have found great success using Facebook gifts, not only getting impressions from all users on the main page but also seeing it on friends’ feeds. One of the best ways to make a positive impression is to allow users to actively interact with your brand; gifts are ones of the easiest way to do just that.

Make a Facebook Fan Page

Particularly for brands that already have loyal users, Facebook fan pages can be a boon of opportunity. From announcing new products to launching contests, fan pages are an easy way to stay in touch with your users and allow them the opportunity to communicate with you. From Michael Jackson to Starbucks and Napping to Nutella, even the strangest of products or attitudes can experience the virality that only Facebook can offer. Take a look at pages like Victoria’s Secret Pink or Coca-Cola to see great branded executions.

Promote an event

Raise awareness for the launch of a television show, a contest, or a movement by creating an event. You can make events open invite, add photos, or link to external sites with more interactive elements for your brand. The event will show in users’ news feeds and expand the

Create a branded application

If you want to really give your fans a chance to interact with your brand, you can create a branded application. While quite possibly the most expensive option, applications like Farmville and Café World have captured the attention and favor of over a 100 million users combined. On a platform of interactivity, enjoy extended communication with your fans through a great application. Options for promoting your application will be changing in the next 30 days, so check back next week for my article on what these changes will mean for marketers.

Claire Grinton is a brand strategist and writer based in San Francisco. Find more from Claire or contact her at claire[dot]grinton[at]gmail.

Tags: Advertising, community, Facebook, Marketing, Social Media