Facebook isn’t just for personal use any more; it is increasingly becoming a powerful component of a business’ overall marketing and digital strategy – and it is a lot easier to run a successful Facebook page for your business than you may think.
Marketing expert and business coach, Deena Janes says one of the first things you should know when running a business page is that it isn’t so different from your personal page – so don’t be afraid of being a little less business and a little more casual.
“The biggest mistake I see is that a lot of businesses will post business stuff on Facebook and from my observation, the best results come from anything that isn’t related to business. The audience likes to know you are a person as well.”
Another big misconception when it comes to running a Facebook page for your business, according to Janes, is time. While she advises you should only start using Facebook if you are willing to commit to keeping it current and engaging, it doesn’t mean you have to spend hours on it either.
“You need to spend the time but the biggest misconception is that you have to sit there and post every day. There are programs and software that you can use where you can upload a whole month, or up to 12 months of content. If you spend an hour a month you can easily upload enough content and as interesting stuff comes through the office, just jump on maybe once a week.”
If you are concerned about time, Janes says to avoid outsourcing your social media marketing, as it will likely cost you more time – and money – in the end.
“When you outsource to people, often what I’ve seen is they are grabbing content from all over the place and it is usually other people’s content and then it links through to other websites and other places. The danger there is sometimes you see that the links go through to other websites that might have other business’ details on it. It does pay to have someone do it internally or do it yourself.”
Ultimately, the main purpose of a business Facebook page is to engage with consumers and get them into your business. However, Janes says it can be surprising how many businesses aren’t turning likes into clients.
“You want to get your clients out of Facebook and onto your website so they can explore. Facebook needs to be able to collect information such as names and details and email addresses from people, so you can then continue your conversation and communication,” she said.
“Facebook is great for lead generation and getting people liking you, but you need to put them into a formal communication program such as your email newsletters or your other forms of marketing you have.”
