How Small Businesses Can Build a Facebook Community
As a small business, or a seasoned professional like Bob Bratt, you know that social media marketing is important. When it comes to social media, there’s no platform more popular than Facebook. How can you start to build a community there, though? Follow these tips for reaping the benefits of the world’s biggest social media site.
1. Listen to what your community is saying. You’re asking people for their opinions on products, services, or content, and so it’s important that you listen to their responses. If you can’t decide on what item to carry or you want to know what service would best benefit your potential customers, ask! Also, pay attention to complaints, particularly repeat ones. Lastly, never let feedback go unnoticed; whenever possible, respond to your audience.
2. Spend a little money here and there to boost your posts. You can decide what to spend and who to target. To decide what your budget should be, figure out what you’re getting in return. If you’re trying to sell a $1,000 product, use $50 on your boost! If you’re selling a $20 book, you may want to limit your boost to just $1 or $2 instead. You can also look into other advertising opportunities, like mobile ads and sidebar ads.
3. Be engaging by only posting quality content. Intriguing videos, great photos, and interesting text are integral to attracting people to your Facebook page. Limit how much text you use in a post and always keep the tone friendly and conversational. Also, never put up a post without some type of visual component; your posts should never be text-only.
4. Don’t look at Facebook as advertising, look at it as a social gathering. Talk to your audience as though they were your friends. Become a trusted expert in your field. Then, once in a while, you can slip in a promotion for your business. Your main goal, though, should be to always be genuine.
5. Experiment with your Facebook marketing and tweak your system where necessary. Regularly look at your analytics to find out who’s responding to your posts, when your posts are performing their best, and what kind of content is making a difference. Use this to form your strategy for the future. Also, read those notices that Facebook sends out! To use the platform properly, you have to keep up with the changes, to how your posts are being seen to how to use their advertising tools.
When it comes to social media marketing, the thing to focus on is the social aspect, not the marketing aspect. Always approach your Facebook community as a friend first.
