Last week, we brought to you our top five tips on using Instagram features to build brand awareness, boost your audience and potentially create new lead generation. Today, we are focusing on all things Facebook.
While millennials will tell you Instagram and Snapchat are the King and Queen of the social media realm, Facebook still has its place in the kingdom. You see, Facebook tends to attract an older, more mature audience (think Baby Boomers) who use the platform to keep in touch with old friends and family. So, it would be madness to sideline it when considering how to market your business, especially if an more mature demographic is something you are looking to target.
Facebook has a series of unique features unlike anything found on its sister platforms. We’ve put together a four of the best tools we believe businesses need to jump on. They are as follows:
Messenger
You know that neat little chat platform you use to privately message your friends on Facebook? Well, it can be used for so much more than just that. You see, Messenger is actually a gold mine when it comes to sales opportunities. That is because you can actually use it as somewhat of an advertising tool. Think back to the last time you visited the Facebook page of your favourite cafe or shop. Did you notice how the Messenger icon popped up as soon as you landed on their page? It is an instant notification to let you know the business is open to discussion, staff can assist with any of your needs, and you can actually message the platform to instantly buy a product. Most of these servers are programmed with “Bots”. These are programmed robots that have annotated responses and actions to assist you, as a consumer and/customer, with your needs. They can usually direct you to a website and answer basic questions. These bots - and the Messenger platform in general - can also be added as a feature on business websites using specific coding. If you aren’t very tech savvy, you may need someone to assist you in setting it up. But it effectively works the same way as it does on Facebook. And the feature is only expected to grow with more and more possibilities added to it. Not a bad little tool.
Reviews
When searching for a doctor, bank, restaurant or any kind of service, you generally ask for a recommendation from someone you respect, right? Alternatively, you might look online for a review to help make your selection a little easier. After all, we trust the experience of other normal people, just like us, over an expensive advertising campaign, right? Boosting your rating and generating more reviews on Facebook is an important consideration for businesses looking to boost brand credibility and trust. People want to know they are getting good value for money, great customer service and an overall positive experience. Ask your customers and followers to leave you a review on Facebook if they’ve had a good experience with you. This will enhance your reputation and put potential future customers’ minds at ease when considering you as an investment.
Page Header
Don’t fall into the trap of slapping any old photo or graphic on your Facebook page header. You want your business to stand out from the rest - and this little box at the top of your page is usually the first thing people see. Video can be an effective medium to use in this feature. You could pop together a short advertisement, montage of your services, tour of your facility or a warm welcome message to invite people into the page. Make it short and sharp, and visually appealing. It needs to shine and be authentic to your business. Think about the mood and tone you want to set. Is it warm and bright, or a little more clinical? Whatever your choice, make sure it aligns with your goals and is consistent with your brand.
Notes
Do you have stories within your business that you would love to share with your customers, but unsure how? Have no fear. Facebook has developed a tool called ‘Notes’ that allows you to upload a body of text with a header, images and hyperlinks. It is a great platform to upload your stories, recipes, news articles, media releases - whatever you want. And the best part? The messaging can be totally controlled. That is, you don’t have pesky journalists trying to change your words or the context of the article. It’s just you, your business and your platform. Give it a try.
We hope you can take away some tricks from this post. Stay tuned for the final instalment of our social media series next week, which talks about LinkedIn.