There are a lot of small business owners with the preconceived notion that social media is a complete waste of time. And unless they have a social media strategy they’re absolutely right. To benefit your business it’s important to understand how to utilize these tools in an effective manner.
Social media is now the #1 activity on the web, producing almost double the marketing leads of trade shows, telemarketing, direct mail, or PPC. I could go on forever about all of the different social media platforms, but instead I am going to focus on Facebook.
So why is it important for your business to have a presence on Facebook? Because 67% of B2Cs say that they get more leads – and sales – from Facebook marketing than any other social media site. I would say that this makes Facebook a necessary marketing element for B2C strategy. Recent statistics show that Facebook has 1.11 billion monthly active users, and 751 million monthly using Facebook mobile. In fact, 85% of internet users have Facebook accounts.
For small businesses it can seem far-fetched, and be difficult to gain thousands of likes on Facebook. And while it may seem as if the only way to be successful with Facebook is to have an abundance of likes, this is not the case. If people have liked your page, it is probably because they honestly are interested in your business. There is the option to buy likes on Facebook, but how would this benefit your business? Truth is it won’t. Having tons of followers, but low levels of engagement on your page will be obvious to your genuine fans and perhaps lead them to question your level of expertise. It is more important to focus on having your “real” followers engaged in your content and in your brand. So now the question remains, how do you get your fans interested?
When users are scrolling through their news feed, the last thing they want to see is insignificant content. Keep the content relevant to the topic of your page. If you are posting content that is completely irrelevant to your page, then your followers will become entirely disengaged and probably miss out on the important content that you actually want them to see regarding your brand. It may even cost you fans to be posting unrelated content.
While the content should be relevant, it shouldn’t be all about your product. It is beneficial to post advertisements for your product such as sales, offers, and contests. In fact, posting offers that are exclusive to Facebook fans of your business is very attractive to prospective customers. However, you should avoid overselling. Overselling your product can get irritating for your fans, and eventually cause them to overlook your page entirely. Instead of always posting about your business, perhaps share a poll or pose questions to your followers, the types of open ended questions that spark conversation. This helps to show your fans that you value their voice and opinion. Refrain from asking any questions that have the potential to start an argument. Pictures and videos are other great ways to engage your fans. Visually appealing material is always more likely to get their attention, as opposed to a long blurb of text. Statistics show that on average, posts with less than 250 characters get 60% more engagement.
Finally… be creative. Have fun with your page. Remember to post consistently and respond to comments immediately. You don’t want your fans to forget about you, or feel neglected. Keeping this in mind, don’t over post as this could get very annoying for them and result in an ‘Unlike.” Following these tips for social media marketing will help to improve the user experience of your fans, and hopefully grow your customer base.
Need assistance with improving your social media presence? Mystique Brand Communications can help! Contact Us.
Nikita Kataria
Social Media Marketing Coordinator
Mystique Brand Communications
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