Facebook Marketing For Small Business
This is a writing sample from Scripted writer ISRAEL SOLIZ
Despite what some "experts" say, Facebook is still a great place for small businesses to market and advertise their products and services. Facebook marketing for small business can be done for very little or no money and the returns can be spectacular.
Whenever I take on a new client I make sure that their Facebook Business Page is up to date and optimized for search. This is a fairly straight forward process but it can be time consuming. I am also surprised at the number of small businesses that STILL do not have a Facebook page. It boggles my mind.
If you do not have a Facebook Business Page or you just want to update your current one, these few tips can help you out.
Make Your Cover Image Pop
The very first thing people will see is your cover photo. Make it count. I like to keep things simple when it comes to images because so many people are using mobile devices these days that you need your image to look good on a small screen.
I like to use Canva to create all my Facebook images. It is a free service and they have excellent pre-made templates for you to use. It is one of the best free Facebook marketing tools out there.
Use your company logo and any other images you may have. Add your unique selling point or company slogan but keep it simple, like this.
Another benefit for having an awesome cover photo is that when someone likes your business page, it will appear on their timeline. This means that their Facebook friends will see it. If your image is intriguing enough, you may get some extra traffic and likes. That is some awesome free advertising, right there.
Mix Up Your Content
Content marketing is still one of the most cost effective and creative ways to market your business. But you can't just post the same type of content to your Facebook page. Your followers will soon get tired of it and stop paying attention.
One of the things I do for my Soliz SEO Facebook Page is to automatically post my Instagram images to the page. This mixes up the posted content and give my followers different media to engage with.
Use curated content to provide valuable information for your followers. The blog posts from this website are automatically to my Facebook page but I also use posts from other websites as well. Some people may balk at giving other people free advertisement but that is the wrong way to look at it. You want to provide your readers with valuable content, something that they can use. If they view you as a trusted source of information they will consider buying from you before anyone else.
Go Visual First
Did you know the brain processes images 60,000 times faster than text? I didn't either until I started writing this post. But I knew it intuitively. nOw, what does this have to do with your Facebook business strategy? Well, everything.
You should be using images whenever possible. And those images should be eye-catching. Create images that will make people stop scrolling. Attention spans are getting shorter by the day. You have about six seconds to capture the attention of your reader. Throwing a bunch of text in front of them will not get their attention. All The Facebook marketing for small business strategies come down to one thing: getting your customer's attention. You have a better chance at doing that with images.
You can use photos, infographics, videos, charts or anything else visual that you can think of. The point is to make it memorable. To quote Don Draper, "Make it simple, but significant."
Engage With Your Community
There was a time before the Internet. I know this because I was alive then. We used to go into a store and the people behind the counter knew us and knew what we liked. We would talk to each other. All that has now moved online and we call it social media.
You need to think of your Facebook page as a storefront. Greet the people coming in. Find out what they like. Make them feel valued.
You do this by responding to comments that people leave on your page. No matter if those comments are [positive or negative, you need to respond. Look at your Facebook page (and all other social media profiles) as an extension of your customer service department.
People want to engage with brands on social media and you should make it easy for them to do that. But don't just be reactive. Make the first move. Choose one follower at random and offer them something for free. Set up an Ask Me Anything session and answer all those questions your customers have. Celebrate milestones in your customers (and employees) lives like marriages, anniversaries, births or any other accomplishment.
People are aching to be recognized and you have a perfect platform for that in your Facebook page. Remember this: the more engagement your have with customers the more loyalty you are building.
Facebook marketing for small business does not have to be difficult. These simple tips will put your light years ahead of your competition. But you have to have a Facebook Business Page first. If you do not have one (or your page needs some help) contact me and I can get a page set up and optimized for search in no time. There is no reason to not have a Facebook page for your business. I'm from Soliz SEO and I'm here to help.
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