So your customers are on social media… and you want to be. But where to start?? It’s one thing to start a Facebook page and invite people to like it. It’s another thing to post interesting articles or photos about your job and industry… but 75% of the time your page falls flat, and you don’t know what to do about it. Here’s some ideas to get your customers into your comment – and you can drum up some business at the same time:
- An online contest – Try introducing a contest to get your Facebook fans and potential customers engaged on your page. There’s nothing like user generated content to get things going. If you are a hair salon, ask for a 1-minute video a month before Mother’s Day nominating amazing moms for an unforgettable Mother’s day Makeover. Make them rally for votes on the video from your page and whoever gets the most votes wins the makeover! If you do gardening do a campaign the entire month of April for people to post a photo of the sad condition of their yards that need to get in shape for the “Summer of a Lifetime”. Leave it up to the crowd to vote! *If you choose to do a contest like this make sure you are telling everyone about it – even outside Facebook! If you don’t already have a ton of fans in your local area they won’t find out about it on their own. Facebook doesn’t allow a lot of people to organically see your content, so you either have to be proactive on letting people know, or you have to pay to target people through Facebook advertising.
- Polls – Ask questions and get your fans and potential customers involved in your Facebook posts and content. Let them know that you are interested in their opinion on things related to your business. People like to feel like they can be helpful and at the same time it gets them involved with your brand. Ask them which logo they like the best for your new and updated look, tell them you are opening up a new area and give you the 411 on the community. If you are a home contractor, show pictures of different kitchen remodels, label them A and B and ask people which one they like better. The sky’s the limit with what you can ask!
- Videos – Post fun videos and do LIVE video! Start a Q&A every Monday – do a guest interview and show a cool client project – show a behind the scenes of your shop and what you do every day – believe it or not, people love what you think is boring day-to-day! We did a post about live video broadcasting a little while ago so check out more tips there.
Try something new on Facebook next time you are looking to increase your engagement. If you have other ideas we would love to hear them! And if you aren’t sure how your business can apply to a contest or other campaign reach out to us – you can e-mail me directly at eschurtz@freshlime.com! We love getting creative and would be happy to brainstorm with you.
For more tips on online marketing for small business make sure you follow FreshLime’s Marketing Blog for the newest content and Twitter!