Today has never been a more important time to solidify your business’ online presence, especially with the progression of Facebook algorithms constantly changing. Social media plays an ever-growing role in not only engaging in customer interaction, but also in building your overall online reputation.
Business owners are having a harder time these days adapting to Facebook’s newest algorithms, stating in their announcements that if companies want reach, they should pay for it. And while many companies are starting to utilize Facebook ads more, there are still numerous methods to gain user visibility that are either completely free or very-low cost. Here are some ways which you can use Facebook to gain more social proof and essentially grow your company:
Have satisfied customers give you testimonials on your Facebook page
Positive reviews and testimonials can be excellent in persuading new customers to consider doing business with you. Facebook is extremely addictive, and more and more people are turning to Facebook (even before Yelp) to research real-customer experiences before ultimately deciding where to spend their money.
This can be done as simply as by asking your customers and clients to directly leave feedback on your Facebook page. People love to spread the word on a good thing, so if your business is worth talking about, then customers are typically more than happy to tell their friends about it. Never underestimate the power of word-of-mouth! Or you can simply post rave reviews your customers left you via email, it works great for Aqua Vista on their Facebook page.
Use your page to list important business information
Users love being able to find all the information they need in one place such as locations, business hours, and contact info. This is a good idea, especially if your business offers frequent promotions or has fluctuating business hours during the holidays. The easier you make it for potential customers to access you and your business, the better!
What most companies get wrong here is that they don’t leave a visible the link to their website above the fold on the “About” tab on Facebook, found right under the profile image. Another mistake often encountered is an extremely short “bio†for the company. Some people will encounter you through Facebook first, and you want to make as an awesome impression on them as you can.
Implement an ‘Invite Your Friends’ tab
This makes it easier for eager customers to promote your business to their friends. It is simply a tab that you can place next to your pictures tab, one that people can utilize to spread the word about your business by inviting their friends to ‘Like’ your page with a simple click of a button.
Utilize an eye-catching Cover Photo
Cover photos are literally the first thing that people see when landing on your page, so you’d better make sure it’s a a well-worthy one. This can be a fantastic opportunity to showcase a special promotion deal or a call to action. The only exception is that Facebook guidelines currently state that text cannot exceed 20% of the image, but that still leaves plenty of room for effective and attractive design.
Run a discount deal or contest
A tactic that can be used on your page is to keep deals and contests available to fans who have ‘Liked’ your page. This is an amazing way to attract new audiences and keep the pre-existing ones happy. By implementing a call to action such as having people ‘Share’ and ‘Like’ a photo (an acceptable course since Facebook introduced the new contest rules), it spreads the word to all of their networks which, if done correctly, gives your business an unbelievable outreach to new potential clients.
If you want to take things a step further, you can implement promotional ads within Facebook to further boost your social reach. Numerous companies have built massive followings using this very method. Ads can be very inexpensive to run (as little as $3USD per day) and campaigns can boost your fan following exponentially!
Provide local content
When people connect to a Facebook page, they want to feel a close sense of connectivity, regardless of where they are in the country or region. By providing your customers with content specific to their area (be it a particular city or neighbourhood in a city), it gives off a better sense of community.
You can accomplish this in a few ways, such as offering local deals in specific store locations for walk-in business, or if you’re a global company, being aware of the specific languages in which you publish in. By customizing post visibility, you can choose that certain content is seen only by those in specific locations or by people speaking certain languages.
These tips will lead you to the right mindset you need to have in order to be successful on Facebook, reach new audiences and profit. All you need to do is start right now.