With nearly 1 billion users, Facebook has become the main place online for small businesses to get right in front of their potential customers and clients. Looking for ways to use Facebook in a small business? If so, then the 5 ideas below are worth their weight in gold. Let’s get straight to it…
Use a third party platform
One of the main reasons why small business owners are apprehensive about using Facebook and other social media sites is because it just seems like so much work. This is why it’s a good idea to use a third party platform such as HootSuite so all social media posts can be controlled from one central location. Schedule posts ahead of time, so they automatically are posted according to the schedule that is set up. This is especially an effective use of time on slow days, when there is some time to set up posts in advance.
Buy Facebook Ads
There is no denying that going down the “free” route in Facebook does work, it’s just that it can take some time to get the ball rolling. With this in mind, if there is desire to see instant results then you should start invest in low-cost promotion on Facebook, so the company is able to get right in front of the target audience. Start with a small $10-20 budget per ad. If an ad does not give the company the results needed by then, try a different ad. The key to making paid advertising work is to be always testing. Once the company finds a profitable campaign, then increase the investment in it slowly.
Build a mailing list
Not many small business owners understand the power of building a mailing list on Facebook. An example of how this can be done is by giving away a physical product completely free of charge and all people have to do is like the Facebook page and fill in their mailing address. The product could be something simple like a free informational report that can be sent by email, a free refrigerator magnet or keyring, which can easily be produced rather cheaply using a custom printing company. Once a few hundred products has been given away then there will be a great mailing list of potential customers available.
Create a QR code
We discussed this topic in our post on mobile marketing tips for small businesses.. Did you know that it is now possible to create a QR code that will take people straight to the Facebook page? For example, if placing the QR code on product labels, flyers or coupons, then all people have to do is scan the code with their smartphone and they will land on the company page. Wondering how to create QR code? Don’t worry as it’s extremely easy! Simply search on a site like Google or Bing for “Qr code creator” and there many free options to choose from.
Offer coupons
Another way to harness the power of Facebook in small business is to offer coupons. There are many different ways to do this, but perhaps the best way is to lock the coupon and only make it available once somebody likes the Facebook page. Then promote the coupon offer to the existing customer base, and once they start telling their family and friends then it has the potential to go viral and drive a lot of new customers in the door.
In Conclusion
Put simply, if not currently using Facebook in small business then you are leaving a lot of money on the table. So what are waiting for? Get started on Facebook right away.
