If you've been following our Social Media Series for Small
Business, you know we've now talked about which Social Media sites are best for your business, what good posting strategies you should employ and how you can re-use content to enhance your overall social media strategy.
With this post, we want to start to dive a little deeper
into each Social Media platform with a more detailed look at Facebook for your small
business.
Click above to take a look at an enhanced version of our Social Media
for Small Business Infographic.
As we discussed before, Facebook has the most content shared
of the sites we are reviewing with more than 1.3 billion users and growing.
Of all the options we've looked at, Facebook offers a more
personal approach for small businesses than some of the other platforms.
Facebook is known for personal connections so it’s only natural for small
businesses to make this their platform of choice.
But it does depend on where you can find your customers. If
you are a B2C (Business-to-Consumer) operation, Facebook may be a really good
option for you. With 1.3 billion users, it’s safe to say at least a good chunk
of your consumers are on Facebook.
But it may also be a good option for B2B
(Business-to-Business) if those businesses are small businesses.
Facebook offers the opportunity to connect, have
conversations and get to know your followers.
We recommend posting 2 - 4 times per day, including shares, likes
and comments. A good mix might look like this:
- Post a link to a new blog post weekly or bi-weekly that is not a sales pitch, but offers valuable information to your customers and prospects
- Regularly post your latest how-to videos from YouTube
- Daily like, share or comment on an item of interest from one of your followers that will enhance the experience to your followers
- Engage in strategic conversation around topics important to your business and your followers
- Follow others who will enhance the experience from your page as well as customers and potential customers
- Post testimonials from current customers
- Enhance the experience with add-ins like Pinterest and Foursquare if they are right for your business
- Increase opportunities and followers by purchasing Facebook advertising
It’s also important to remember what NOT to do on Facebook:
- Don’t get political or pontificate
- Don’t over post, share, like or comment
- Don’t post your personal life on your business Facebook page
The key to every good social media strategy is to have a
plan, think it through. Your social media should tie into your overall
organizational goals. Be sure to think like your customer and be genuine. Above
all #BeStrategic.
We would love it if you would share some ways you have
successfully (or not so successfully – because we can all learn from that too!)
integrated Facebook into your small business social media plan.
__
Kerry Brooks is Co-owner of ProfessionalEdge Associates, offering a wide range of
marketing, event planning and other support services to businesses that
want to increase their success, but aren't in a position to add to their staff.
Learn more at www.gettheprofessionaledge.com.
