Today our topic is Small Business Facebook pages and it’s the second blog in our social media for small business series. Love it or hate it, Facebook is here and utilizing it as part of your marketing strategy is important. First of all, Facebook can be a valuable asset in not only building your audience but also then engaging with that audience. This social platform is a fantastic source of social proof for your business and if you don’t have one you are really doing your business a disservice.

Small Business Facebook 101

Started way back in 2004 as a social networking site created by Harvard student Mark Zuckerberg and some friends in the dorm. It eventually spread to most college universities in the US and Canada, before opening to everyone with an email address over the age of 13 in 2006.

Not convinced you need a Facebook for your business?

• In 2018 Facebook now has 2.19 billion monthly active users.
• 5 new Facebook profiles are created every second.
• 58.3 million U.S. Facebook users were between 25 and 34 years old.
• 72% of adult internet users use Facebook.
• Facebook has the most engaged users:
  • 70% log on daily, including 43% who do so several times a day.

What do these statistics mean for you and your business? Facebook offers up many opportunities for your business, if you take advantage of them.

Things to keep in mind when using Facebook for your business:

• Facebook is image heavy, try to use video and images to entice viewers
• Facebook is predominantly for entertainment and value. People look to a company’s profile before making a purchase or reaching out to them.
• Facebook is “share” heavy.
• Content that resonates with the audience is more likely to be shared.
• You can target relevant audiences on Facebook

Examples

To make it easier let’s look at a examples of a small business killing it on Facebook.

Caskade Bar & Grill

Caskade Kitchen & Bar have hit the mark for having a standout Facebook page. Why does their page stand out? It:

• Has a header image and a profile image. 
• The images are not blown out or pixelated.
• Labeled as a restaurant.
• Has the about us section is filled out, including the contact information.
• The review section is utilized on the page. 
• Posts have images to quickly grab attention.

Diving into the engagement and reviews on the page offers up more insights:

Here we see comments.

Caskade Kitchen & Bar ENGAGES with their comments and reviews! If they don’t leave a comment, they make sure to like the comment so that they are above all, still engaging with the audience.

When they post they:

• Use Images!
  • Images are bright and clear, catching attention and drawing engagement to the post.On posts with questions, they RESPOND to the question or statement.
• Use Hashtags!
  • Hashtags used are relevant to the post – the name of the establishment, location and what the image is off.
• Again the image draws in engagement – likes, comments and shares, and the business makes a point to respond and like the comments – building community!

Not Up to Snuff

Now it’s time to flip it and review a small business not taking advantage of everything that Facebook has to offer.

Baja Chops Surf Grub have completely missed mark for a page with many missed opportunities on this page.

• This is an unofficial business page, meaning no one is running it and the small business is not utilizing this social media platform.
• The about is empty as the page is unofficial offering no way of contact for this business.
• Reviews are relatively old between 1-4 years old and offer again no interaction from the business.
• A quick Google search shows that this page is the only online real estate for this company.

Treating social this way gives an air of disregard, as though you don’t care enough to open up this channel of communication for your customers. This lack of social proof can hurt a company since more and more potential customers look to a company and their social platforms before moving forward.

Facebook for small business is a useful tool and a platform that you can’t afford to lose out on. Hopefully these best practices will allow you to form your own habits and help you build an engaging audience today. If you have any questions feel free to reach out to us at (518) 694-4044.

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