How to Use Facebook to Generate Customers
Since its conception Facebook has grown exponentially and is currently the most used social network site in the world, with hundreds of millions of regular users and new developments happening continuously. Many businesses have benefitted from having a strong presence on Facebook, building up a large, loyal fan base that are regular users of the social media platform and provide essential feedback and market research for that particular business. Facebook can be an endlessly useful tool for a huge variety of businesses, providing it is used efficiently, yet many still choose not to use it, believing their business too small, or simply not knowing how to use it correctly. Facebook is one of the best free tools to use for marketing and there are some tips on how to use it and how to use it in a way that generates business.
The prospect of building up ‘likes’ is always very appealing, but the amount of ‘likes’ your page has is not equal to the number of customers you have spending money with you. The number of fans you can generate is not important when they aren’t contributing to your sales or revenue. As you generate fans they will usually fall in to two categories; casual fans, who do not really have any connection with your business other than clicking a button, and loyal customers, who are genuinely interested in any updates and spend money with you. It is essential to convert casual fans to loyal customers and to also instil a greater sense of loyalty and passion in those whose custom you already have. These tips are designed to help you do just that.
There is a huge variety of social networks to choose from these days, but more often than not, people will have more than one that they use on a regular basis. If potential customers are crossing different platforms, then you should be too. Crossing multiple social channels will allow you to reach as many people as possible, increasing your chances of success, don’t just stick rigidly to Facebook, potential customers will appreciate being able to choose their own method of communication.
Fan pages on Facebook can feature tabs that run along the top of the page. These tabs should be utilised to offer more dynamic content for fans, such as educational resources, sign up tabs or specific downloads, the more content you offer your fans, the more likely they are to share your content with others and more loyally visit your page. Tabs are not immediately visible to all users, so you must be sure to always remind fans that they are there and possibly employ the use of a ‘fan gate’, where people must like your page in order to view a certain tab. One of the ways to use a tab in Facebook is to provide a form for users to opt-in to an email list without leaving Facebook, where you will then provide a newsletter or email offer or something similar. Customer conversion and nurturing of relationships is more likely to occur when users are part of an email program and constant customer communication is always good for brand awareness. It is important that you highlight the benefits of signing up to the email subscription and employ many calls-to-action, as well as posting regular updates to remind your Facebook followers where the sign up option is available.
It is a good idea to not let your Facebook page become too product heavy, as this could make your page seem very sales oriented, but you can generate views and fans by hinting at a new product or exclusive offer. This will create interest and increase popularity, but you can also use it to drive traffic to your regular website by telling your Facebook fans that more information is available there, alternatively you can create offers or new content that are only available to those who like your Facebook page, creating a bit of a ‘buzz’ and lending the feeling of exclusivity to your brand.
Other ways to engage followers with your brand is to devote time to posting interesting and relevant videos through your business page. Videos are an interactive way for consumers to feel like they are in communication with a company or business and they can be a very powerful device in persuading consumers to commit to a purchase. You can incorporate these in to features mentioned previously, such as a teaser video for a new product or using a ‘fan-gate’ to allow people access to your videos. They are also a great tool for showcasing new products and even highlighting great customer reviews and testimonials. Google Hang Outs are an easy and cost effective way of creating videos for your Facebook page as well as your Youtube channel.
Another thing to consider trying on Facebook is posting coupons or discount vouchers. These do not need to be huge discounts or once-in-a-lifetime offers, but modern consumers will now expect some kind of discount. The vouchers can be online codes to use on your website or printables that can be taken to physical store locations, inevitably creating tangible income.