Facebook exec to speak at Donegal Enterprise Week
By Nicola Cooke
Facebook’s European director of operations, Colm Long, will give a talk in Donegal this week at which he will stress the importance of using the internet to promote business. Long is among several high profile guest speakers at Donegal Enterprise Week.
They include Doug Richards from BBC’s Dragons’ Den and celebrity chef Richard Corrigan. The latter will launch the Donegal Food Initiative, aimed at encouraging food producers to develop their business.
Long, a Derry native with a Donegal grandfather, will offer tips for fledgling and existing businesses at a seminar on raising online awareness. He believes that Facebook and other online applications are a great way for business to market themselves and increase their reach in a target market.
‘‘Facebook pages help to get your business visible online for free,” he said. ‘‘They lower the ‘barrier to entry’ for marketing and selling products online, starting with fan pages for a business.
‘‘I’d also recommend that small firms try out some ads on our site that are cost-effective, and can be designed to reach people in a certain geographic area – or for a certain age bracket or with particular interests.
‘‘There are also loads of free tools available online to promote your business, such as great tracking tools that allow you to measure every euro spent and see where your customers are coming from. With search engines like Google, you can optimise your web presence without spending a fortune,” he said.
Long said he also recommended the use of Twitter, GoogleMaps and Google Local, to enhance customer building.
