More businesses than ever are realizing the power of Facebook Marketing. A recent Small Business Technology Poll revealed that 41 percent of small businesses surveyed have a Facebook Page for their business. Last year, 27 percent said they’re using the social network, which represents a 52 percent jump from the previous year. That is great news for small businesses that need a cost effective, as well as customer effective, way to market. Facebook marketing is clearly not a fad.

The problem is that many businesses use their Facebook Page to broadcast rather than to engage and miss the best opportunity given to them by Facebook: engaging with their customers. So let’s look at some ways that businesses can use Facebook to engage with their customers and potential customers.

1. Ask Questions – This sounds like the same advice you get for having a conversation in person, right? People don’t want to hear your broadcast, they tend to prefer to talk about themselves. It is only human nature. By engaging your fans in conversation by asking questions, you can learn how your business can better serve it’s customers. Facebook has also given us the nifty “Facebook Questions” feature that helps us do even a better job with our questions. Have you used Facebook Questions yet?
2. Post Frequently – To be visible in your fans’ newsfeeds, you need to be there when they are. You need to be posting at least once a day to give your fans something to engage with. You want to post frequently enough to show up, but not so frequently that you appear to be spammy. Mix up the your types of posts. Questions, information, links, photos. The more possibilities people have to engage, the more likely they are to engage.
3. Keep Your Posts Short -  Studies show that there is a 27% increase in engagement by posts that are 80 characters or less. There is a lot of information posted on Facebook, and people don’t always have a lot of time to spend reading long posts. Keep it short and simple for better engagement.
4. Time Your Posts For Better Engagement -  The same study that showed short posts get more engagement also showed that posts on off-business hours get more engagement. Even though many businesses embrace Facebook marketing, there are also many businesses that block Facebook at the workplace. If you are posting during the hours that your target market is blocked from seeing Facebook, they won’t see your posts and won’t be able to engage. Do you work at a place where Facebook is blocked?

Broadcasting on Facebook is applying old marketing to a new platform. What ideas do you have for engaging your fans on Facebook?

 

 

{ 4 comments }