If you’re a business owner, you’ve probably asked these questions, at least once: Should I be on Facebook? Why? Will I get any real conversions from it? We are constantly engaged in conversations with each other and with clients about the importance and the role of social media in business. This article is a great read and got our wheels turning. You have to think differently about ROI when it comes to Facebook for business. Let us show you why – and how to make the most of it.
#TweetableTakeaway (if you just want the bottom line):
1. Facebook is word of mouth advertising.
What recommendation are you more likely to trust: a brand that is self-promoting (“Buy our hamburgers! Best in town!”), or a brand that your friend or family recommends (“Go eat at Brad’s Burgers! Best in town!”)? It’s easy to see the power word-of-mouth has over direct marketing. Baby boomers and younger have been advertised to their entire lives and have learned to see through “sales-y” language.
Facebook is a gold mine for Word of Mouth! People go online to hang out with their friends and family. And when they see their friends interacting with a company or reviewing and recommending its products, that brand’s value skyrockets in the eyes of the FB user.
How to use it: You’ve got to get interaction on Facebook! The more fans you have and the more engaged they are, the more opportunities you have for people to spread the word about you. Make people WANT to engage you by offering some incentive (like a contest) or interest (like a “fill in the blank” question or a puzzle). Begging for likes and shares is almost always a turnoff.
How to track it: Get familiar with the “Reach” section of Facebook Insights and leverage its powerful data.
2. Facebook can help you gather new leads.
With 1.23 billion users and counting, you have an unbelievable audience at your disposal. Attract their attention and make it worth their while to become your fan!
How to do it: Contests bring lots of new leads. Have people answer a trivia question or submit a photo in order to win a prize (make sure they’ve liked your page first or given you their email address first). Note: It’s best to use a gift card to your business as a prize rather than giving away an iPad or something else general. You want leads that are relevant to your products!
How to track it: After the contest runs, email all entrants a coupon or promotion (which will be trackable). They will be enticed to spend money at your business at the moment they are most interested in it.
Facebook Contest Apps like Wishpond allow you to mine even more data through Facebook’s Open Graph. The most important data you’ll find here is user’s interests. Then you can see other Pages, People, movies, etc. that they like on Facebook (giving you more ideas for stuff to post about – see #4).
3. Facebook can drive traffic to your site.
Facebook is a top-of-the-funnel tool that can help you get people in the door – or to your website. Get those new leads to visit your site, and then turn them into customers.
How to do it: Make sure your website is filled with Likeable, Shareable, Clickable content – and then post about it.
- Write FB blog post “teasers” to a full story on your website. Let these blog posts tell stories about your products, how they are useful, and how they improve people’s lives. Give people ideas or teach them how to do something.
- Use partial images on Facebook – and invite people to click on it to see the whole thing (the whole image is on your website, of course).
How to track it: Install Google Analytics on your site and use the “Social Reports” tool.
4. Facebook can help you understand your customers.
Use Facebook Insights or FB Contest Apps like Wishpond to find out all about your fans. Where do they live? Where do they work? What are their interests? Do they like cooking? Who is their favorite band or sports team? What time are they most likely to be online? What day of the week gives you the most shares?
How to use it: Use this wealth of data to create engaging posts and blog articles, weaving in your own products and business. This is likely to increase engagement – people love talking about themselves! And if you post a picture of their favorite whatever, they’re probably going to get excited about it.
This info might even influence your product line. Who knew your target audience loved bagels so much? Maybe you will develop the latest bagel-eating gadget that will catch on like wildfire!
How to track it: Use Facebook Insights and Google Analytics together to see overall growth that shows you are hitting your market with more accuracy.
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Have you seen Facebook’s value for your business? Comment below to let us know!
