Social media sites such as Facebook are not just for singles looking for dates or college kids. In fact, social media marketing is a must for almost all pet enterprises.

In addition to the site's high visibility, it's a great way to promote and market a business; It's interactive; It's easy to use; And for the time being it's free.

Here are ways pet retailers can use Facebook to increase their bottom line and promote their brand.

Is Social Media Marketing Right for Your Business?

Before any entrepreneur decides to embark on using such social media sites as Facebook for business marketing purposes, they should bear in mind that this requires a time commitment. In order for this to work, the site needs to be updated on a regular basis or it will grow stagnant. Business owners who are not tech savvy or don't have a lot of time may want to consider enlisting a Web savvy employee to oversee this.

If you do decide to take the Facebook business marketing plunge, there are endless possibilities for promoting a pet business.

One can Utilize Social Media Marketing To:

Promote new pet products.

Post updates about sales and special events.

Provide public service-based content about such topics as pet health and wellness.

Present discount offers, contests and other promotional concepts.

Post news about pet food recalls and other important information.

Another great thing about Facebook social media marketing is that it enables one to interact with customers. They are free to post comments, questions and general feedback, which affords more personalized customer relations, and can help to enhance a pet business's customer service cache. (Be sure to respond to these posts promptly and courteously, and always thank the customers for their comments. )

An Overview of Social Media Marketing Tools

Before one delves into the wonderful world of Facebook business marketing, it's a good idea to become familiar with the tools, applications and the site's other available business marketing options.

There are basically two kinds of accounts best for businesses: Pages and groups.

I personally think that the pages option is best for pet businesses, because they're more versatile and reach wider audiences.

The page options are:

Local Business or Place

Company, Organization or Institution

Brand or Product

Artist, Band or Public Figure

Entertainment

Cause or Topic

If you have a pet shop with a regional client base, then the first category is your best choice. For more global outreach, for example, if you have an Internet pet supply business with national or worldwide shipping options, the Brand or Product category would probably work best.

Some Examples of Social Media Marketing Approaches

Here's the Facebook page for a pet store called Felix and Oscar, a mom and pop operation in Virginia that specializes in natural foods for dogs and cats. (I found out about this store from my cousin, who shops there for her dogs. )

Now take a look at the Facebook page for Dick Van Patten's Natural Balance pet food.

See the differing approaches? Regardless, they both work within the context of these two different types of pet businesses.

The bottom line is, social media marketing opportunities available through Facebook and a growing number of other sites are virtually limitless. All it really takes is a time commitment and creativity.