Here we look at Facebook for small business and consider if it is as good today as it was last year. Peter Hanley shows that it is getting better for SME’s
No need for Facebook Introduction
We all know Facebook and what it does but first of all let’s separate the fun stuff for the business side.
I like Facebook because I have 5 kids with family’s that regularly post happy snaps that keep me up to date. Everyone gets in and comments and it is lots of fun. What I don’t do is spend a lot of time on it. First thing in the morning and maybe a late look as well.
Saying that my wife does regularly monitor my feed because she does not like Facebook, go figure that out.
Lets only consider business Facebook
Every business should have a Facebook page that is active and attended regularly with updates.
Buyers, sellers job applicants in fact anyone wanting to do business will you will want to look at your Facebook page.
The result when it is not up to date is probably worse than not having a site at all, it shows that you don’t really care about Social media.
Not having social media displays that you are still in the dark ages of marketing and would I really want to do business with you?
But does Facebook really work?
It really does drive traffic to you and your website and it can be proven.
I follow a local dress shop marketing program because I Find that they do it very well. In my feed, I regularly get 2-4 messages a day every day. This site is done by a professional group so it is done correctly. They have a good website and Instagram account as well.
They recently posted figures bragging 8000 customers through the door last year and 3896 online orders. What amazed me is the number of online orders. Yes mostly from Facebook posts. Yes, the girls are hot and even provocative but they are targeting the look-alike customers.
Facebook is a delivery mechanism
Milk had a great post today, Go to our website to get 30% off Zarba or similar brand. They send you to the website because there you can place an order. When on the Website the Facebook link is hidden down in a corner so you need to search for it. They don’t want you to go back to Facebook.
Now I reckon the Online orders to be worth just short of a million dollars in turnover at a 100% margin, a tidy business if I do say so.
It appears that Facebook is the prime marketing medium. I have not yet seen evidence of retargeting on Facebook so that could really add a new dimension.
Who needs a Shopfront when you have Online
The Million dollar in turn over (estimated) is a good business all on its own.
Though you would not sneeze at 8000 walk-ins either. About 22 a day on average.
Probably another couple of Million in turnover. Remember this is not the cheap end of the market it is the Young trendy females.
Why do I tell you this? First, let me clear up I do not know the owners and have no association with them at all. I have not purchased from them at any time.
My interest is purely academic and to point out to you how well it can work and that three posts a day every day is not overkill when the content is all class. The figures quoted were in a yearend Facebook post by them and not made up by me. don’t shoot the messenger
How hard to post every day
I have a site on rescue cats, this is an exercise in building followers and not at this time monetised. With about 5500 regular followers it is growing nicely. I want about 20K before I am happy.
I post once a week on the weekend. I gather a few interesting pictures or ideas and then schedule a week of posts. Done and dusted about 30 minutes. Hardly a chore and I get some delight with it.
If I can do this so can you or someone you nominate. Do a week’s posts and sit back and enjoy the action. Because I am not monetising this I generally only do one post a day but it is every day.
Does quality matter when posting to Facebook?
A pretty dumb question if I do say so myself but surprisingly many don’t think of this.
Off course it matters, pictures work, smart headings work and calls to action work. Short written posts get skimmed over and not read. simple really.
Have a look at your feed and see what gets your attention and make that an action point.
What is retargeting
This is Facebook advertising at its very best. When someone visits your website and selects a page or product they are tagged by Google as interested. An advert will then pop up in all sorts of places reminding them of your site.
important to know is that no private data is shared or kept so it is not Big Brother. A few pixels are collected and replayed at choice. It works really well.
I wrote on Retargeting in a recent blog.
Using other social media
The more the better. A must do is LinkedIn because many will search for your details there.
Have a good BIO and photo and upgrade occasionally
Instagram is the new darling of the younger set and compliments Facebook with a similar approach>
Some just use Instagram and gather a following but I prefer Facebook for your target audience.
Your webpage
Everything ties back to your Web page the ultimate selling tool with great SEO and lots of well-written blogs.
You can do this yourself if you follow the free training at Wealthy Affiliate
or outsource it to others just make sure it is done.
So what about YouTube
Video is a must do product and YouTube is catching up to Google in the number of searches. It is a whole new subject and I don’t want to dwell here but you do need to understand it
In conclusion
Social media my just be the difference between success and failure. Everyone is doing it in one way or another. All the multi national corporations are in on it and the stories of success are everywhere.
Peter Hanley is a pioneer in small to medium businesses going through to Public Listed companies. He has over 40 years of continual experience.
In about 2006 decided he needed to know everything about the new way of marketing and has dedicated time to learning new skills. He is happy to share the learning
