Here are two typical scenarios for small businesses and Facebook pages that I have observed. One the owner of the local business is busy, doesn’t do social media in their personal life so they don’t see the value of having a Facebook page for their business. The second scenario is someone tells them they need a Facebook page for their business. Because it’s easy to set-up, they or a friend sets up the page, they start posting regularly, but soon the posts just happen now and again whenever they get a chance, they have few followers and little to no engagement. To avoid either of these scenarios from happening to your business read further to determine if Facebook is right for your business at this time and how best how to use it.
With large companies using Facebook, and over half a million users per day, one would be naive to not see the value of considering Facebook for their small business. Likewise with budgets tight and time short it’s important to consider if it’s right for your business at this time. Generally speaking if you have a consumer oriented or consumer service oriented business Facebook is worth your time. Some examples would be restaurants, boutiques, florists plumbers, chiropractors just to name a few. If the business is a B2B where the product or service is mostly to other businesses then a different platform like LinkedIn maybe more appropriate to start with.
Once its been decided that a business Facebook page will benefit a small business, there’s more to it than just setting up a page. One of the causes for the second scenario above is that many page owners lack an objective and think that is all about the number of “likes” they get. While likes are a measurable analytic, having a Facebook page is about a lot more than the “likes.” The percentage of people that return to a page after they have liked it is very low. This is why an objective is so important, is the goal more traffic to a website or a brick and mortar location? Or, perhaps the goal is positioning someone as an expert. At different times the goals maybe different, but having a goal will direct the actions taken, give something to be measured and ultimately get a return on the investment. In my opinion, as well a many others, one of the best goals for a facebook page is adding people to your email list. To read more about email lists, click here.
To go into all the details and how-tos for the different objectives would take too long for the purposes of this post. Since success leaves clues, here are two Facebook pages to get ideas from, Nescafe a large company and The Red Poppy a small local business. However, if a thorough course is desired Amy Porterfields FBInfluence 2.0 is an excellent option. For less than the cost of an ad in the local throw away you’ll get the tools needed to make your Facebook page a success. Then, have an employee or member of your family implement it. Or, hire someone like myself to manage the page making sure that clear objectives and benchmarks have been set so the ROI can be measured and tweaked as needed. Have a business Facebook page you’re proud of or one that needs help? Post a comment below and share what’s working for you or the question you have to make yours better.
