Does My Small Business Need a Facebook Page?

Facebook: the great big social media monster. There’s profiles, likes, shares, videos and more. Somehow people are using Facebook to better their business. But how?

Businesses across the planet are making a name for themselves not by awesome sidewalk sales or crazy in-person giveaways. They’re doing it by leveraging social media. Facebook, Twitter, Google+, Pinterest, Snapchat, LinkedIn – the list goes on and on with new updates every day.

What Exactly is Facebook?

Facebook is a major headliner of discussion nowadays. And for good reason.

As one of the top 10 biggest sites and services on the Internet, Facebook has quite the digital empire. Visitors spend an average of 28 minutes on the site. Those are big numbers, considering how short online attention spans have become.

As an online hub of sharing, commenting, and posting, Facebook is a cross between an online chat forum, a search engine, and a news outlet. It’s seemingly endless degree of functionality makes Facebook a realm of uncharted possibility. For businesses, this means it is another place where your reputation exists, another part of your online presence. The opportunity lies in what business owners and executive teams choose to do about it.

Facebook as a marketing channel for your brand can be a great thing. It gives you a unique opportunity to interact with customers and other brands as if your brand was a person. This humanizing quality is tremendous in breaking down the barriers of communication between company and consumer.

Facebook Tactics We Use at Build Your Online

As a Community Hub

Companies big and small are using their Facebook pages as the starting block for connecting with their online community. You can use your page to showcase their fun work environment, spur awareness for a new store launch, and get the word out for their own community events (like tastings or a local 5K race)

You can sift through and get a better feel for what your customers look like, are interested in, and are driven by. You take that feedback, put it into action, and broadcast this back to the community. The biggest thing you want to accomplish when trying to grow your community is an established empathy for your customers’ needs.

To Share Insights

What better way to show your smarts & expertise than through social media? People love being in the know, learning behind-the-scenes info, and getting a source’s expert opinion. Fill that desire and answer some FAQs, concerns, and timely advice with your online community.

Promotions

When it comes to event promotion, social media has taken center stage. Facebook allows for the best possible customization of online event and promotion listings. There’s plenty of room for creativity when it comes to advertising your upcoming promotion. It all comes down to growing your community first.

Use your promotions as a way to reward those loyal followers. Get in the habit of offering more promotions via social media. This way customers will be incentivized to not only check in frequently to your Business Page, but will also associate your Facebook Page as the definitive source for the best promotions on your services and products.

Contests

People love winning free things. The bigger the prize, the better! Engage with your base’s creative and competitive spirit with a uniquely-engineered contest that blends both elements. Include a service discount or giveaway that’s compelling, make it as easy as possible for participants to get involved, and don’t forget to collect some information (that’s the whole point!)

How Your Business Can Leverage Facebook.

Marketing used to be centered on “I speak, you listen.” Now, the focus has shifted to an even keel: businesses provide insights, experiences, and services while customers provide feedback, critiques and recommendations to their circles of influence.

Your business needs to start taking part in the online conversation; about your industry news, updates, and most importantly, your actual company. You can contact Build Your Online for assistance with all your social media needs. 

Reputation still rests at the center. Winning customers remains the goal. But now the tactics have shifted. Businesses that are making a killing from their successful social media campaigns blend real-world conversations with digital world content.

Once customers know that your Facebook Page is worth their precious time, you have their attention. It remains your job to continually speak in the language of social media while maintaining your brand’s voice. Posting short motivational quips and quotes is great for filling space, but don’t mistake that for effective content marketing. You want to engage with customers in a more meaningful way.