Why is Facebook your social media shopfront? Should you even worry about Facebook? Is it even relevant to your business? Does your Facebook business page have crickets and no engagement, or you haven’t started a business page yet? You might be missing out on a big chunk of the market.
We talk about a shopfront as a physical location, but you have to step outside the box (shop). Search has evolved way beyond foot traffic or letting our fingers do the walking, and social media, specifically Facebook, is one of the first places your customers will search for your business.
Social proof
So how does Facebook work as a shopfront? A Facebook page image, the volume of followers, the level of interactions, what the page feed looks like, reviews, even the copy in the about section, all creates perceived value. If this all looks good, you make the assumption that the business looks pretty good. If your page has a healthy following, and those followers are interacting with your business, through commenting, liking or sharing, then the social proof is doing its job. I mean, if others like your business there must be a reason right?
Social proof is very powerful. It will build trust and relationships just from perception. It’s your social media shopfront and you need to treat it like one.
Tips for getting started
Everyone has to start somewhere and followers won’t judge when your business created a Facebook page, they just want you to be honest with your communication. Authenticity is key.
- Make sure your page image works across all devices. If it’s blurred, it’s the wrong size and you need to replace it. Don’t include text that you can’t read. It’s better to use a clean crisp image to represent your business.
- Use a symbol or an image for your profile picture not a logo which is cut off and you can’t read. Something that represents your business.
- Fill out your about section and make sure you solve a problem in your copy. Describe your business, who it’s for, why it’s the perfect solution to a problem and which areas you operate in. The more problem – solution included in your about section, the greater the opportunity to fill a need for the person reading it. It’s an extremely important part of your page and one that’s often overlooked.
- In order for your social media following to grow, you need to post consistent content which is compelling and relevant to your audience. You can use the scheduler tool inside of Facebook for your posts and make sure they are at the same time each day. Facebook is an algorithm and works off patterns so if you’re doing the same thing each day Facebook will predict where and who to send it to.
- Facebook is about community and engagement. If someone comments on your post, comment back. Keep the conversation going. The more you connect with your audience the more Facebook will share your post by showing it to similar people.
Finding your audience
Whether you realise it or not, you have 2 audiences on Facebook. The ones who are potential customers to purchase your product or service, and Facebook itself. You have to keep both of them happy. Posting content that your audience likes and engages with is vitally important for your reach. However, it’s just as important to make Facebook happy by minimising third party links (bitly links), keeping your audience on Facebook (minimal YouTube links), making your website links load fast, with no user delays and posting videos around 1-3 minutes long.
Facebook is all about the user experience. If the user is happy, lands on fast loading websites, isn’t redirected through tracking links and shares, comments and likes or loves your posts, then you have pleased the Facebook gods.
Facebook business doesn’t have to run your life, but it should be a part of your marketing plan. Keep it updated, relevant and connect with your followers. Don’t forget it’s still very much a search platform for customers to find your business.
