In the last few posts, I’ve talked about social media marketing and the impact of this relatively new marketing technique for small businesses. In the last post, I examined Twitter, and how it can be used as part of a small business social media marketing campaign. Today, I have Facebook on deck and will show you three ways in which you can use Facebook as part of your social media marketing strategy.
Social media marketing and Facebook
Few social media sites have had the impact of Facebook. Not yet 10 years old, Facebook boasts more than one billion users – about 13% of the entire human population. Its size alone makes Facebook a very attractive social media marketing tool. Much of Facebook’s features are designed to support business marketing activities, so Facebook should be a natural “go-to” item in your social media marketing toolkit. Here are three easy ways to incorporate Facebook as part of your social media marketing plan.
Set up a business page on Facebook. You can set up a Facebook page for your business. You can use your Facebook page as a simple information site, or you can use it as a “base of operations” for your social media marketing outreach. Facebook users can “like” your business and “friend” it as well. This enables you to reach out directly to customers and potential customers who are interested in your business, industry or profession.
As part of your business page, you can post photos, videos, set up events and invitations, initiate conversations and welcome comments from your user community. You maintain full control over what is published on your business Facebook page. When items are published on your Facebook page, followers will receive notifications that you’ve added new content. Users can share or repost the content you’ve provided. That allows you to reach a broader audience.
Encourage word-of-mouth connections. As you build your own Facebook community, you can encourage customers to “like” your business, and spread the word to other potentially interested colleagues, acquaintances and their friends. Word-of-mouth is a very effective marketing technique, and as a small business, you may rely on the positive reviews and referrals from other satisfied customers. According to recent studies, businesses who have active Facebook followings double the size of their Facebook communities on average, once per year. Over time, that can allow a small business to grow, increase its market share and open new marketplaces that it previously couldn’t reach.
Social media marketing is here to stay, largely because consumers find social media platforms to be a convenient, fun way to retain connections to the people, organizations, causes and events that they value. Small businesses can use Facebook easily and inexpensively to create supportive market spaces for themselves.
If you would like more information about social media marketing, or would like to know how you can put social media marketing to work for you, please contact our creative director, Dave Ramsell or call Dave at (330) 243-0651 for a consultation.
Photo Credit: The Facebook Like image appears courtesy of Facebook.
