First off – confession time. We missed posting yesterday. I’d blame the cold medication – but the reality is we got busy working on stuff for our awesome clients. But like we said in our initial series on blogging, it’s ok to occasional call in sick. Just make sure to get back in the routine of posting on your regular schedule as soon as possible.
You’ve Gotta Get On the FaceBook
FaceBook offers a lot of opportunity for businesses to get feedback, try out new ideas and keep their brand top of mind in their customers. Like all of these social sites the main thing to consider before you start setting up a page for your business is whether you have the time to manage it.
Time is of the Essence
It’s free to setup a FaceBook page for your business so the only cost is your time. But like Twitter, it can’t be something you just broadcast out to and never engage back in the conversation that may be happening on your page. While it might be slightly more professional than Twitter, you still have to try and switch out of stuffy business mode and talk how regular people talk. Be prepared to get feedback from customers on the things you post – good and bad. So it’s important to think about whether you have 10-20 minutes per week (initially) to post and respond.
Top of Mind for Your Brand
FaceBook is a great way to keep your business in the minds of potential customers. Whenever you post something to your FaceBook page, all the people that follow you get that update in their FaceBook live feed – the stream of information you see when you first log in to FaceBook.
Also, anytime someone “Likes” or comments on your FaceBook page, everyone who follows that person also sees your business’ name. It’s a great way to remind people about what you do, so long as you do it with tact and don’t abuse it. People can always un-like you or block your updates if they think you’re posting too much.
Feedback & Research
Facebook can also be used as a quick way to get feedback on a new idea or direction for your business. Perhaps you’re a retail store and considering stocking a new product that you haven’t had previously – ask the people on your FaceBook page for feedback and see what kind of response you get. Or maybe you’re thinking about changing the hours your store is open – ask and see what people think. Again, the key is to do it tactfully and not come off like you’re just using people like a marketing research firm might do it through telemarketing. For a small business that can’t afford to spend a ton of time and money on market research, this can be an invaluable tool for determining your company’s direction.
Next Steps
So that’s a few of the things to consider when setting up a FaceBook page. Tomorrow we’ll cover the basic steps to setting up your FaceBook page for your business. Be sure to like our FaceBook page to be notified of our new posts.
