Social Media is Omnipotent

Social media is all over the place, more and more frequently TV hosts remind us to check them out on Facebook or to reach them via Tweet (it sounds really odd from Dr. Phil).  Just this past week I took my bi-annual trip to the mega mall in our area and noticed a lot of signs in stores encouraging shoppers to look up their Facebook page and become a fan. My trip to the mall left me with the impression that social media has infiltrated the masses and is rapidly approaching it’s saturation point.

What does that mean for the small business owner that has a desire to maximize their social media presence and increase their bottom line in the process?  The good news it that it means there are more social media followers than ever which equates to more potential customers that are now in your extended Facebook network.  The reality is that when the saturation point hits you want to be well positioned with your fans in order to keep a captive audience.  A typical small business sets up a Fan page, invites their pre-existing friends and does little else to grow the fan base and add inherent value to their Fan page.

Keep Fans Interested and Grow your Fan Base

Let me start with acknowledging your willingness to tackle social media and kudos to you. Now that we are approaching “social media saturation” it is time for the small business owner to get a little more savvy in leveraging their Facebook presence.  The best way to add value to your site is timely and relevant page updates.

Here are the basics:

• Update your content with regularity and mix up the types of content as frequently as possible:  add video, photos, update your status to reflect what is exciting or new with your business.

• Elicit responses from Fans by asking for their feedback, opinions, etc.

• Post during “high traffic” times

• Use the calendar to add upcoming events

• Use the Facebook Fan Page to Twitter app if you are on Twitter as well

Find your Facebook groove

What is a Facebook groove?  Well it is specific to the company.  My general opinion is that if you do not have a retail store or an existing customer base that you can mine, it is much more challenging to engage a fan base.  If you are in the service industry or perhaps a niche market that customers seek out when they need your product or service, you may need to work a little harder.  A good place to start is to do a search for your industry on Facebook and check out other Fan pages.  Make note of what that particular company is doing well and implement in a way that fits your company.  Remember the old adage, copying is the highest form of flattery?  It applies on Facebook as well!

After you have checked out what your local and national competitors are doing there is another area you should address. Check out the Fan pages of large companies that you are  interested in.  This is a great way to see what others are doing to keep fans engaged and to add value to their brand.  I pay particular attention to companies that have marketing and advertising campaigns that I admire.  The best case scenario is that if a company runs a great ad campaign-they just might have a bangin’ Facebook page with a big time fan base.  Keep in mind large companies throw a lot of dollars towards marketing and advertising and have access to the best firms in the business.  The probability that you can learn something from the pros is good.  Let me help you out and give you a few companies that are “known” for having a great Fan page: Coca Cola, Starbucks and Volkswagen.  Go from there and take the time to check out companies that you admire and you will probably discover a few new ways to leverage Facebook.

Set up a Strategy

If you are not sure what to post-ask your fans!  That is a great way to get people involved and engaged.  If you offer relevant and interesting content you will have an active fan base and be more likely to grow your fan base.  The other thing you can do is create a master idea list for your Facebook page-generate a list of industry topics that you can post on, create pre -determined photo categories and commit to updating them with regularity.  People are far more likely to visit your page if update your page with relevant information.  Being on Facebook is a step in the right direction, using all of the exiting outlets a Fan page provides to craft a message, reach prospects and/or existing customers is good business.

RevenFlo offers monthly Web Marketing programs!

We ROCK your social media.  We can assist you in developing a Facebook strategy that helps position your company in the forefront of the Social Media Revolution!