Digging deeper into Facebook

Facebook has proven to be a great source of new customers for millions of small businesses. But many business owners are not using Facebook to its fullest lead generation potential. For one thing, Facebook has added new features that make it more useful for small firms.
First, understand there are two basic ways to have a business presence on Facebook. There’s an “organic” presence. That’s your free Facebook page where you build your base of fans, post pictures, offers, articles and more.
But there’s also paid advertising, and having a paid presence can be a great supplement. Facebook’s rich advertising platform lets you target specific audiences and take some of the guesswork out of social media marketing. Local businesses can benefit greatly from the ability to target messages only to potential customers in their own area. You can also target by age, gender, education level and occupation. Or reach people who have a specific interest in what you do.
Here are steps to generating more leads from Facebook, suggested by the firm digital-marketing firm Optify:
1. Improve your page. It’s not enough to just have a Facebook page. You need to make it informative, attractive and engaging. Pay special attention to your cover photo and profile picture – the two primary visual items on your page. Your profile picture might appear in many places, including search results, ads and sponsored stories. And because it’s small, it must be simple. If you use a business logo that’s complex, you might want to create a simplified Facebook version.
2. Create captivating content. In order to generate leads, your Facebook page must be a steady source of helpful, shareable information. Try addressing customer “pain points.” What solutions can you offer that help people? The more you can do that, the more they are likely to share and like your content.
3. Try Facebook Quizzes. These are a quick and fun way to engage customers and learn something about them at the same time. Just keep these things in mind: It’s not a test, so don’t make it one. This will turn off customers. No more than 10 questions. Tell people up front how this will benefit them, and how many questions there are. And offer an incentive. If your goal is market research, for example, offering a prize (i.e. a discount) for completing a quiz will boost participation. •


Daniel Kehrer can be reached at editor@bizbest.com.

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