Today, local businesses cannot afford to be left out from the world of social networks. Social interactions and discussions about quality of products and services, are largely entertained on social networks such as Facebook and Twitter. The topics discussed, if widely engaged, can go viral and reach millions of people in few hours or days. Therefore, this is why brick-and-mortar businesses need to have a social presence.
Facebook is currently simplifying the ease of access to online advertising for any offline business that did not have the resources to promote themselves in the past (Clark, 2014). With social networks everyone is connected no matter the geographic location, creating a powerful ecosystem. As agued by Nadkarni & Hofmann (2012), people wants to feel part of something and share their thoughts and experiences due to a need for self-presentation. This means that for both customers and businesses become easier to start a dialogue, which is beneficial for both sides. After all, if a business can satisfy customers’ needs, customers will be more willing to purchase its product or service. Moreover, having an account on a social network such as Facebook will provide the business owner with useful data, which can help analyse their market as never before and target directly most relevant audience.
When I worked in Digital Marketing, I always wondered to what extent Facebook really helps businesses and of course it is not always possible to track every performance back to the source. However, I arrived to the conclusion that, if using this platform wisely, it will definitely increase your visibility (i.e. very useful when running Student Union Elections or when sharing offers within a shop) and it provides easy inexpensive ways to help your local business with a limited budget.
Every different business has their own strategy and vision, but here I am proposing few simple tips, which can help you take advantage of every opportunity that Facebook provides.
- Assign specific time to manage your profile
This is essential if you want to ‘be out there’ to constantly engage with your audience to raise desire for your products/services and then transform it into action. Spend at least an hour of your day, to update your page and create useful content to raise your connections’ engagement.
Source: (Facebook, 2015)
- Listen to your audience needs and answer by fulfilling them
If different people ask for something you don’t sell and it is worth selling it, you should listen to them. Any feedback either negative or positive can help reassess your work to identify margins for improvement. In the picture below, coffee seems to be recalled many times, therefore this coffee shop is listening to their audience, they can organize an event or promotion based around their great coffee. This would increase awareness for their coffee, directly increasing sales and volume of customers.
Source: (Pop Pie’s Facebook, 2015)
- Offer small rewards or promotions
This technique is a quite simple idea that will force customers to visit the store to redeem their rewards or take advantage of a promotion. It is a great method to boost short-term sales. But remember to be creative and use different propositions every time, BE ORIGINAL!
Source: (Facebook, 2015)
- Share experiences – Products, Employees and Customers
After all this is a ‘social’ network, even though it’s a business, you will make friends with customers and among employees. Everyone always want to know what is behind the curtains, so you should engage your audience sharing every day’s experiences. This will raise your positive image on Facebook as well as in your customers’ minds.
Source: (Facebook, 2015)
- Go mobile
Thinking that in the UK 20 million people connect to Facebook everyday seems mad but is true. However, it is not as mad as knowing that 83% of these people do it with a mobile device (The Guardian, 2013). Basically every business needs to be mobile-ready if they want to keep up with competition.
- Facebook Targeted ads
We could not conclude without mentioning the super targeted Facebook adverts. I believe that sometimes Facebook paid advertising can be a bit of a double-edged sword, but if used it wisely can reach a great portion of your relevant audience. Targeting has to be as specific as possible and adverts format needs to differ (Right-hand-side, Sponsored & Mobile) based on your targeted audience. Therefore my advice is to start with a small budget and then raise it accordingly to your needs. Always remember, use specific messages and familiar images to engage the right audience.
Hopefully these tips will help you get your Facebook strategy started, work hard and good luck!
References
Clark, P. (2014). Facebook Hopes to Turn Small Business Users Into Advertisers. [Online] Businessweek.com. Available at: http://www.bloomberg.com/bw/articles/2014-06-03/facebook-hopes-to-turn-small-business-users-into-advertisers [Accessed 13 April 2015].
Halliday, J. (2013). Facebook: four out of five daily users log on via smartphone or tablet. [Online] the Guardian. Available at: http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2013/aug/14/facebook-users-smartphone-tablet [Accessed 14 April 2015].
Nadkarni, A. & Hofmann, S. (2012). Why do people use Facebook? Personality and Individual Differences, 52(3), pp.243-249.