So, you’ve taken the leap and set up your Facebook Page for your business. Now, you’re not quite sure what to post, when and so on! Here’s a handful of things to keep in mind to help make your Page a successful part of your marketing efforts.
Be a resource AND ask questions
You want to establish yourself and your business as “the” resource for information on what’s happening in your industry. Post links to relevant articles on the Internet, how-to tips and anything else that your followers will find informative.
You should also encourage your followers to post questions on your Page. Become the “go to” source for information about your field of expertise or your industry.
You also want to ask questions. When you post a link to an article, always say why you are posting it and when possible, ask what your followers think about it. Ask for their opinions. When you ask questions, you’re showing that you care about what they have to say!
70/30 rule
I’ve seen this in various forms—what’s important is to find what works best for you. Basically, this is the mix of “selling” and “informative” posts. As a rule, 70% of my posts are informational and 30% are more specifically about the services that I offer. The key is to find the balance between being a resource and telling people know what you do and how they can buy your product or service without being the pushy salesperson!
Don’t be one-dimensional
Social media is all about developing relationships with your followers and this is accomplished through having conversations with them. It’s NOT all about posting and posting and posting and never, ever responding to anyone! Websites are static—the information there is one-way. You want to actively engage your Facebook followers in conversations.
The absolute worst thing you can do on your Page is ignore someone’s request. I’ve gone to Pages before and asked how I can buy someone’s product or service…and they’ve never responded! That’s just like ignoring them if they come into your store or not replying to a voice mail message or email. Not only would I never do business with those who ignored me, I told others about it! Social media is all about word of mouth and it can be good OR bad. Don’t let it be bad for your Page!
Don’t let people forget you
We all have the attention span of a gnat and we’re inundated every day with messages from a variety of mediums. You have to post often enough that people remember that you exist, without posting so much that you’re annoying. My rule of thumb is to post once a day—every other day at the very least.
Obviously, there are times when you’ll post more often. Just don’t get carried away. Again, you don’t want to be the pushy salesperson!
I’ll have more tips for using Facebook for business in future blogs, but now it’s your turn: what tips do you have?
Great tips Deb! There are too many small business owners floundering around in the social media arena, but it really is a great place for small businesses to compete.
Here’s another tip: Never “Comment and Dash”-as I like to call it. 🙂 The point of commenting is to create dialog. Be sure to continue to engage in the conversation that continues after the original post. This is a great way to really get to know people and have fun on Facebook!
Thanks for taking the time to share your ideas with the world!
Best,
Jenn (Guerrilla Girl)
Jenn – I love it: Comment and Dash! I love posts with comments that go on for days!!
My main rule, don’t be afraid to be social. I mean it is ‘social’ media, so talk back and contribute the conversation. And find excellent blogs like this one to contribute too (ha, nice plug.) One of the best companies using social media I am friends with is an umpire attire distributor. They are always responding to requests for equipment, putting up fun stories and even complaining about the weather. Hmm… maybe I should take notes. Ha!
Thanks, Tim! Interesting about the umpire blog – a totally unexpected…but great…use of the tools!!