Social Media for Small
Business: Part 2 - Facebook
Facebook is a big deal but you probably already know
that. To put it into context, there are around two billion people
on the internet today, 850 million of them are on Facebook. The
only other site that can boast more unique users is Google. So if
used correctly Facebook can be a great way of reaching a new or
existing customer base. There are whole host of things you can do
with Facebook Pages but we will keep it simple.
There are three main parts we are going to cover in
this section; Pages, Posting and Sharing but first you need to work
out what you want to get from Facebook and then set yourself some
goals. Work out how often you want to post. The aim is not to post
all the time but infact try to make your posts relevant and
interesting enough that people comment, share and like
them.
Pages
What
is a page? Well Facebook themselves probably describe it best. Here
is their explanation of a Page:
Pages are for
organizations, businesses, celebrities, and bands to broadcast
great information in an official, public manner to people who
choose to connect with them. Similar to profiles (timelines), Pages
can be enhanced with applications that help the entity communicate
and engage with their audiences, and capture new audiences virally
through friend recommendations, News Feed stories, Facebook events,
and beyond.
You
also need to work out if a Facebook page is right for your
business. If you are targeting Joe public then a Facebook page is
perfect but if you want to get the attention of other businesses
then it might not be worth the effort you put in. Ultimately you
need to make this decision as you know your customer
best.
A
page is easy to set up if you already have a personal account (when
logged in, scroll down to the bottom of any page and click 'Create
a Page') on Facebook or if you don't have or want an account, then
you can simply click the 'Create a
Page for a celebrity, band or
business' Link on the Facebook homepage.
It will ask you a few simple questions about you or your business
to get you started. Once you have set up your page you need to
upload an image to represent you. This can be a logo, a picture of
you or a picture of what you do. You will know what best represents
what you are trying to achieve.
The benefit of using a service like Facebook is
that you do not have to be a designer, developer or super-genius to
use and update your page. It is as simple as updating your personal
Facebook profile. Before writing your first post make sure you are
happy with all the information you have put in about your business
and it is correct. The more info you can include the better you
page will look. If you have any photos that represent your
business, create an album and put associated images in it (e.g.
Photos from an Event should be together in an
Album)
Gaining followers is not going to start overnight
so the best way to start off your readership is to tell the people
you already know. Talk about it on your own Facebook profile.
Identify the friends and contacts that you already have who are
either in the industry or may benefit from the information that you
are posting and tell them directly about it (Either on Facebook, by
e-mail or face-to-face). Link to your page from your website, your
e-mail
marketing campaigns and add a link onto the bottom of your
company e-mails. Use whatever tools you have at your disposal to
spread the word.
Posting
On your Page you can post Updates, Photos, Links,
Videos and Polls. If you know how to use the personal side of
Facebook then you will be right at home with this. When posting you
need to think about what you are writing and how often you write
it. Who is your target audience? Questions and polls often work
well to get people interacting. Nobody likes business talk all of
the time so try to keep it fun from time to time. You will know
your audience and know how much or how little fun you can have with
your posts. Try to post often but don't bombard people with posts,
the last thing you want people to do is stop liking your page
because you fill their Facebook News Feed with posts all of the
time.
It will take time to build up a following so
don't be disheartened if you haven't got a lot of 'Likes' straight
away. Keep plugging away and they will build up as long as you keep
up the quality of your posts and keep spreading the word that you
are on Facebook. Remember to tell your new contacts about your page
and maybe think about putting details of your page on business
cards, promotional materials, E-Mails and make sure it is well
integrated on your website.
Sharing
Having a Page isn't the only way to benefit from
Facebook. Make sure you have a 'Like' button on every page of your
website. This way when someone visits your site they can share it
with all their friends simply by 'liking' it. This type of exposure
will cost you nothing but is priceless as a recommendation from a
friend is always more powerful than one from a
stranger.
Also share content from your site or blog on your
Facebook page by posting a link. It's as easy as copy, paste,
click. The more you can share to keep people coming back to your
page the better. Found a video on YouTube that your followers might
like, post it on your page.
Sharing can go both ways. Services such as our Easy Sign-Up Forms can be
implemented on your Facebook page to gather e-mail
addresses/subscribers for your e-mail marketing
campaigns.
If you are still unsure if Facebook it right for
your business then please call us for advice.
Look out for Part 3 - Twitter - Coming
Soon