More than half of consumers claim that Facebook is the most practical social medium for researching small businesses before making a purchase. There are various metrics on Facebook that allow the customer to get a sense of how good the company in question might be. First of all, Facebook posts often get great commentary from followers. Twitter and most other social mediums tend not to get much interaction. Google+ gets interaction, but doesn’t seem to have a very large regular crowd using it. Customers compare how many likes posts get and how many followers a campaign might have. The level of engagement and amusing content is also another factor, but customer reviews and ratings seem to be the most critical factor.
Special Offers Gain The Most Attention
Many companies also have special offers made on Facebook that can be redeemed or utilized in an actual brick and mortar. Additionally, promoted posts lead to more clicks to websites, and promoted posts with sweepstakes or prizes often do quite well.
Other ways that companies interact with their users besides Facebook special offers include:
(1) Promoted posts – which give you the ability to have a hugely augmented reach and get multiple times the visits.
(2) Sponsored stories – which entertain your clients and hence gain you loyalty and frequency of visits.
(3) Photo & video contests – you need a very large crowd to get people to be willing to do this. For small businesses, you might not have a critical mass, but for large businesses, it can result in free content for advertising or something fun to put on youtube.com
(4)Videos that encourage you to use your favorite products – a great way to get your customers to see your products in action.
(5) Prizes, giveaways and sweepstakes – this can be fun for your followers and attract new ones. However, prize giveaways are something that generally are not effective if you do them too frequently. For small businesses, perhaps twice or thrice a year is enough.
(6) Polls & Quizzes – Polls are great for you to learn what your clients like, or say they like. Their purchasing behavior is the real proof, but an added layer of knowledge can be helpful for your analytics department. Quizzes can be fun for some of your followers, but I wouldn’t have quizzes more than once in two months.
(7) Loyalty application promotions – Having a loyalty program can sometimes help a business and sometimes be more trouble than it is worth. But, try it out and see if you get any bites.
What types of businesses do consumers like to interface with on Facebook?
It seems that customers go more for restaurants, spas, and educational profiles on Facebook than for practical services. Facebook is a cyber-place that attracts people who want to relax and enjoy. So, you can see how seeing what’s new on the menu, or what your latest massage treatment is might be pleasing to a Facebook user. LinkedIn attracts more people who are interested in the practical side to business, networking, and having discussions about the technical aspects of their business. I personally run a Facebook for Notary service providers. It is a lively place to discuss technical issues, experiences, and ideas. However, the audience favors talking about personal experiences on the job which makes our profile personable and fun which is typical of a Facebook audience.
How should your company interact with its Facebook profile?
Facebook is a great tool to promote your business, but it is easy to use the network incorrectly. In my experience, the optimal way to use Facebook is to create a fun, engaging and entertaining atmosphere that people want to come back to. Yes, you can promote new products too, but don’t do it in a way that resembles selling. You can have specials too, because specials make people feel good. To create this type of pleasant atmosphere I recommend:
Informative posts with great photos – Facebook is one of the more visually oriented social media networks. Good photos will get you further on Facebook than Twitter for example. Having an interesting article about industry related information with a stunning photo will make people want to visit your page more often. If you are in the Restaurant business, you could have an article about a new type of dessert or steak, and have a sizzling photo to match it.
Regular interactive posts – Discussions are a great way to involve your users. My personal group averages more than a dozen replies per discussion and we are a tiny business. Having a quiz or poll from time to time not only will help you learn more about your users, but gives them a chance to interact with you in a meaningful way. I spend time each month going through several different forums looking for exciting new discussion topics to post and we typically post about 8-10 discussions per month. In your industry that might be too many, so you can experiment and see how well your discussions go.
Having special offers – discounts and specials are important, but don’t overkill. You don’t want your Facebook to look like an inexpensive marketplace. Keep the atmosphere fun, and then have specials from time to time. How often is up to you, but mix it in with the other fun stuff.
Stories – Stories that appeal to the emotions of your followers about experiences of your clients or others in the industry are a great way to get people to feel how their life will be like after they sample your products or services. Or, the story could be about things that your staff or other strangers not connected to you experienced. We use stories regularly and our followers keep emailing me saying how much they enjoy them! Remember, storytelling is the marketing technique of the future, so learn to master this art.
My Experience Marketing on Facebook
My personal experience with social media as a B2B website owner is slightly different than what the statistics might imply. When I make a special offer on Facebook, my newsletter, or anywhere else, it tends to be ignored. On the other hand, if I have a human being reach out to the right segment of my clients and offer them a special offer, it often results in sales (depending on how the industry as a whole is doing.) Our followers tend to like visiting our page regularly, love being involved in discussions, love to learn from other people’s experiences, and are generally fun. We get about 7% of our new clients as a result of our Facebook profile. They tend not to be the most business-like clients though which is not a surprise. Facebook is a feel-good site, and you attract happy people who like to interact on Facebook which is not a bad thing. LinkedIn might be a better place to find more business-oriented clients. As I said, I run a B2B, so the unbusiness-like people I attract on Facebook are in business, but don’t act like they take their business that seriously as a general rule.