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Facebook is the largest social networking site on the web, with the most users period. This fact gives marketers a full advantage to reap maximum profits and gain maximum brand exposure. The report is talks about 8 essential Facebook tips for business.
Citation preview
8 Essential
Tips for Businesses
INTRODUCTION You probably already know that not being on Facebook isn't an option for businesses anymore.
If you don't, take my word for it. If you don't want to take my
word for it, let me give you a little nudge via some quick data.
Millennials, the age group in their twenties and early thirties,
now outnumber the baby-boomer generation. In a nutshell, that
means a huge population of purchasing power. Ignoring this
group is, at the very least, not a wise idea if you want to stay in
business.
Looking only at the dining-out habits of millennials, we find the
following:
● 65% consider social media discussions about restaurants
before deciding where to go.
● 32% check the menu online from their smartphone.
We know right away,
without any further data,
that this is mobile and
social crowd. Facebook is
the largest social site on
the web, let alone the site
with the most users period.
It only makes sense to take
full advantage it, so we
have 8 great tips to help
you out. Ready?
1. NEVER IGNORE YOUR AUDIENCE
Reply to every single comment on your Facebook
Page. You wouldn't let a customer walk through your
door without being acknowledged, would you? (if the
answer isn't no, you need some extra guidance I can't
provide here) Yet unbelievably, only around 30% of
all brands on Facebook respond to their comments
according to Socialbaker.com
This statistic is the epitome of bad business. Every
single interaction is an opportunity to grow your
business and your revenue, and if you don't view
them that way then you are either not the owner of
the business or you need some serious sales training.
Don't be in that 30% statistic. Respond to every
comment. Every time.
2. GIVE THEM VALUE
Sure, cat memes are funny, but do they have anything to do with your business? Here is the
great conundrum of posting, that of balancing self-promotion with keeping the interest of your
fans. Fortunately, there's a rule that holds true the majority of the time called the 80/20 value
rule. It says that (blatant) self-promotion should never exceed 20% of your social posts. That
includes sales, discounts, and even
general information about your
company specifically.
The other 80% is the tricky part, but it
doesn't have to be. Learn to curate
articles and other posts from around
the web that are related to your
business and that are interesting. Just
make sure that you're not promoting a
competitor when you do. Create
original posts as well, just keep in
mind that they should be interesting,
related to your business
somehow, and non-
promotional. For those who
may be mathematically
challenged, this rule means
that 1 out of every 5 posts
should be about you, and
the other 4 should be super-
interesting (not to imply that
your business isn't super
interesting, of course).
3. LINK TO YOURSELF
Facebook shouldn't be your only online presence. Different demographics use different sites:
Google+ is primarily men in their twenties and thirties who are tech-oriented; Pinterest is
mostly comprised of women in their thirties; Twitter, Facebook, MySpace and others have their
own set of demographics as well.
A common misconception is that the social media age has marked the death of the website and
blog as important. This is not the case at all. You should definitely have a blog and a website in
addition to your social media presence, as well as using tools like email newsletters. While it's
easy to get overwhelmed trying to manage too many outlets, you should utilize as many as you
can handle to reach the maximum number of potential or existing clients that you can.
Every single one of these outlets should have clearly marked links to every other one. Make
sure people can find you where they are most comfortable. It also helps your search engine
ranking.
4. EVERY TOOL HAS A PURPOSE
Facebook has no shortage of tools it provides to businesses in helping to manage their pages
and attract fans. A short list of these tools
includes:
Sendible
Insights
Promoted posts
Vanity URLs
Events
Featured posts
Each of these, as well as the many other tools
and features that Facebook has put in place for
businesses, serves a purpose and provides you with an advantage in understanding the
mechanics of marketing through the site. Make sure that you understand each one and how it
can help you. They will not only help you on the back end of things, but they can help you
create the best experience possible for your fans.
Remember that the better the experience for your fans, the better your own experience. That's
probably the best tip you'll read, in one short sentence.
As a business you also need to understand that all of those things that most users disregard are
necessities for you to have a grasp of. What I mean are things like the privacy policies, terms of
use, and any other legalese that the average user pays no attention to at all. As a business you
could find yourself in hot water if you violate them. If you weren't aware, the FCC also has
regulations about social media which you need to be incompliance with as a business.
5. OPTIMIZE FOR MOBILE
The desktop interface is all but dead. Well, maybe I shouldn't go quite that far, but the fact is
that with the growing mobile space eating away at desktop and laptop use, the third screen of
mobile is very quickly replacing the second screen of computers.
Making sure that your page is easy to read and navigate from a mobile device like a
smartphone or tablet is no longer a secondary consideration for your online strategy. The
viewership of social sites, and the web in general, is quickly moving to mobile for the majority
of people. Once your Page is setup and optimized for viewing from a computer, you need to
then check it from a mobile device.
Make sure that your cover image is
easily discernible on a smaller screen
and that your layout is adjusted so that
anyone viewing from their phone or
tablet has as good an experience (or
better) than those viewing from their
desktop or laptop.
You should also make sure that you can
be found through a mobile search. 91%
of people who search locally say that
they use Facebook to find local
businesses online. That's another
statistic you can't ignore.
6. USE CHECK-INS
Check-ins all started with the rise of the
Foursquare app, but they have been adopted
since by most other widespread social sites and
apps, including Google and Facebook. Twitter
just bought a Foursquare competitor as well, so
don't think that check-ins are a fad that has
passed. In fact, they may only be getting started
as newer strategies are employed for their use.
Facebook check-ins are already popular, and
they are used more with every passing month.
Just like mobile optimization, this is something
you would be remiss to jump on now. Even
though check-ins are several years old, at this point in the evolution of social media using them
still puts you pretty much in the category of early adopters. Yet they are do have some time and
experience behind them that proves that they are effective as marketing tools.
Encourage your fans and customers to check in at your business, if it's applicable. Word of
mouth advertising is the kind of recommendation that millennials trust above all others, and, as
mentioned in the beginning of this series. they are the largest group of consumers now and will
be for years to come.
7. MEASURE YOUR ROI
In addition to all of the previous tips, there is a plethora of other things you need to remember
and handle on a daily basis when it comes to social media in general. It can be a lot to handle
for one person or even a small team, even if they hold full time positions as social media
managers. Facebook can't be your only outlet online if you really want to be competitive. Using
other networks like Google+, Twitter, and Pinterest and managing a website, blog, maybe a
Tumblr account, or any other number of possible options is the best way to make sure that you
reach every demographic you are after.
Thankfully there are tools which make the social media management process easier, and do far
more than that. Measuring your ROI is a business necessity in any venture, unless you just want
to waste time and money. Good social media management software gives you an edge over
those companies who either don't use one or who limit themselves in the name of saving time
and/or money. The right dashboard will save you more time and increase your chances to
expand revenue far more than any shortcuts could ever hope to.
While a good social dashboard will allow your manager or team to effectively schedule posts
and track engagement, it also does a lot more than that. Reports and analytics are absolutely
necessary in measuring your ROI. They will do all of the tracking for you, leaving you only having
to act on the data rather than collect it first as well. Two beautiful features they offer are letting
you know when exactly is
the optimal time to schedule
your posts for based on
reader engagement, and
which posts your readers are
actually paying attention to
and sharing. You have to
know these two things to
ensure that your efforts are
translating into business.
8. TURN FANS INTO CASH
A "Like" is not necessarily a sale, but it
can be if it's managed correctly. This is
really a recap of the first two tips in this
series, but they bear emphasizing
because it is your part of the interaction
that determines whether or not your
social media presence is something that
brings you more business or just
something fun that you do online
(translation: a waste of time and money).
Using the 80/20 rule is important
because it is what draws your audience
in and captures their attention.
Responding to your audience is
important because, according to
Desk.com, over 80% of social customers
will abandon a purchase because of poor
customer service. Make no mistake,
every comment you reply to is a form of
customer service, and conversely so is every comment you don't reply to. According to
Bluewolf, the use of social media as a customer service channel by companies will increase by
53% in 2013 alone. That is a direct reflection of the demand for such interaction by social
customers.
I hope that these tips gave you some great insight and practical knowledge that you can put to
use in your online strategy. Social media may eventually be replaced by a newer and better
platform for marketing and sales, but until that day comes it is the reigning king and you would
do well to make the most of the current opportunity.
]
Reach Customers on Multiple Platforms Reach customers via Email, SMS and Social Media. Update multiple social networks and blogs at once.
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Sendible is the easiest way to grow and build
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