3 Quick Tips for Marketing with Facebook
Is your business on Facebook, and are you squeezing all you can out of it?
Or are you ignoring the giant, hoping it will go away?
Most businesses would benefit from having a presence on Facebook, and chances are that yours is one of them. Yes, it does take a little time to set everything up and work it daily. However, it’s worth the effort, and here are a couple of tips to help you make the most of FB.
Ask for feedback, opinions, and ideas.
Facebook is all about interaction and developing relationships. ASK your followers questions that help you get to know them. For example, if you run a pet business, ask them about their pets and encourage conversation. Ask for advice about what they use to bathe their dogs or which cat toys are the best. Start a conversation at least three times a week, and pay attention to what they say. This is market research at its simplest.
Share what they’re interested in.
Here’s a neat trick: when you use Facebook as your business page, you can like other business pages, which will then show up on your home feed (not what your fans see). Be sure to like pages that your clients are interested in. Using the example above, like pages for local veterinarians, groomers, pet food stores, and doggie daycares. Share their stories, pictures, jokes, etc. on your page and use them as conversation starters.
An additional tip that will help you get more fans: participate on the pages you’ve liked. Congratulate that pet adoption agency on the three placements it made over the weekend. Tell the vet how much your dog loves Jessie the nurse. Build those relationships–you never know what might result from them. As people see your postings, they’ll be curious about you and go to your page. More fans!
Offer exclusive specials for Facebook fans only.
Reward your fans for liking your page with the occasional special deal just for them. Write a note offering a 10% off coupon, or ask them to come in and tell you they’re Facebook fans for a free sample. Be creative. Ask them to share your page with their friends and offer a freebie for those who report they’ve done so.
After you’ve done this for a while, you’ll be surprised at how fun it can be and how little time it takes. When you engage your fans, you attract even more fans and encourage them to buy. Don’t be afraid to use Facebook; in fact, try something new every week and test, test, test.
5 Ways to Be Seen as an Expert
Customers and clients need you to be credible and trustworthy. One of the best marketing techniques for doing this is to position yourself as an expert in your field or niche.
Experts get recognized, have more work than they can handle, and are primary sources of information for potential customers and clients. But how can you establish yourself as an expert?
1. Write articles and post them on directories.
High-quality articles with plenty of actionable, accurate content show prospects you know what you’re talking about. Don’t forget the resource box for each article.
2. Comment on appropriate blogs.
Find blogs that complement your topic or niche and comment there, making sure you link to your website (usually you put in your site URL before your comment, then it’s linked to your name). People will flock to your site or blog, already pre-sold on you based on your comments.
3. Twitter, Facebook, Squidoo, Digg . . . or your local newspaper or radio station.
Online and offline media can both help you establish yourself as an expert if you play your cards right. Always be professional, find ways to be helpful, and give away a few secrets. People will wonder what else you have to offer if you’re freely sharing such good stuff!
4. Leverage your resources and acquaintances.
Do you know other experts in your field? Why not get together and hold a seminar to help your target audience with their biggest problem? Or guest blog for each other. You scratch their backs, they’ll scratch yours.
5. Try Google Knol.
This is a really cool tool I just found out about this morning and had to share with you. You’ll probably agree after you see the video . . . Knol is a great way to become known as an expert.
Good luck and if you have any other ideas, please let us know!
