Understanding the basic techniques for marketing your business on Facebook is an important part of running your small business. For most businesses in the Fredericksburg area, Facebook is one of the first forays into online marketing – and for good reason. Facebook provides a natural extension of the classic “word of mouth” growth that has helped most of our small businesses survive.
The first steps to successful Facebook Marketing for small businesses were covered in our article on basic Facebook requirements – part one of our Facebook Marketing series. If you haven’t read that post, we highly recommend you read it now and then return here. In this article we’ll go over some basic techniques every small business owner ought to start doing now. This is part two of four in our Facebook Marketing series.
Facebook Timing is Everything
The Facebook News Feed is a realtime feed. When you post is critially important. If you’re running a deli near Geico on Warrenton Road, then 11:45 AM right before lunch is likely the perfect time to post! If your business specializes in home improvement in Stafford then Saturday and Sunday mornings will probably give you the best opportunity to reach potential customers. Fortunately, you can actually write your Facebook posts ahead of time and schedule them to be released at just the right moment. More on that next week.
Posting Frequency is Critical
You must create a schedule and stick to it. Believe it or not, a set frequncy is not for your sanity, but for your Fans. Your schedule will depend on your business – or rather on your customers! Put yourself in their shoes. If you are a Competition Fitness Coach like Jill Vadala, you know that your customers love a steady stream of daily tips, updates, inspirational quotes, and success stories. On the other hand, a dentist or doctor’s office will likely do better with a steady, predictable pattern of posting 3 times a week.
Facebook Post Topic Choice
Choosing the right topic for your Posts to Facebook is another important part of your basic Facebook Marketing. Make writing post easier on yourself by coming up with a list of topics that are right for your audience. Again, the goal is to put yourself in the mind of your customer. Write down two lists: topics your customers care about, and topics in which you are an expert.
For example, here at Websites For Anything, our clients are most often small business owners in Fredericskburg or Northern Virginia. So most of our posts match to one or both of theses lists :
Customer Interests
- Small Business
- Marketing for Small Businesses
- Nearby Marketing Opportunities
- Online or Social Marketing
- Fredericksburg Business
- Fredericksburg Area Events
- Local Business / Networking Opportunites
- Local Business News
- Charity Events in Fredericksburg
- etc.
Authoritative Areas
- Website Design
- Website Management
- Search Engine Optimization
- Social Media Strategy
- Small Business Operations
- etc.
These two lists create your topic choices. 99% of what you post should come from these lists. Now you can begin connecting with potential customers by posting helpful or original information on these topics.
Images Are Key
Not every post has to have an image, but every post without an image will probably be lost. The Facebook feed is a busy place. Most of the time you have less than one second to get someone’s attention. The best way to get your post noticed is by using an interesting or attractive image. Be sure to use a thoughtfully connected image with every Facebook Post possible.
This is part 2 of 4 in our Facebook Marketing series. Click for part one or three.
Get started now on the critical tips we covered today. It will be a lot of work the first week or two, but it needs to be done. Next week we’ll be helping you take the next step with several ways you can make the your Facebook Marketing easier and more efficient.