Over the last 10 years we have built a significant following on Facebook for our Pet Sitting Business and now it’s the second most significant source of traffic to our website – providing us with 100’s of enquiries every month.
And while many people will say Facebook is dead and doesn’t ‘work’ for small business – I would argue that Facebook is very much alive and working IF you are using the right strategies.
And also if you are prepared to put in some work to get the results you want.
So, with that in mind, here are three essential strategies to ensure your page generates results for your business.
3 Things I Would Do On Facebook If I was Starting My Facebook Page Today
#1. Harness the Full Range of Facebook Features
Facebook is continually evolving, offering new features all the time that can greatly enhance your Page’s appeal and engagement.
Stories: Utilize the Stories feature to create engaging content that captures your audience’s attention. People love to feel part of your business and see what you are up to. And stories give people that behind the scenes insight which we all love.
Facebook Background Feature: On your phone you can use the Facebook background colour block to add text over and create updates. ( see example below). This feature continually outperforms other posts on our Facebook Page.
Live Video: Embrace the power of live video streaming to connect with your audience in real-time. Live sessions can be a great way to showcase new products, host Q&A sessions, or provide behind-the-scenes glimpses of your business.
#2. Allocate a Reasonable Ad Budget for Local Growth
While organic reach on Facebook is valuable, investing in paid advertising is crucial to expand your reach. But it’s important that you make your ads hyper local by following these tips.
a. Define Your Local Audience: Use Facebook’s advanced targeting options to reach potential customers in your local area. Consider demographics, interests, and behaviours to refine your targeting.
b. Set a Realistic Ad Budget: Determine a budget that aligns with your business goals. Starting small and gradually increasing your ad spend as you see results is important. As is consistency with ads – you are better to spend a small amount each day over a longer period of time rather than expect quick results with a large spend over only a few days.
c. Make your ads targeted: Highlight that you are offering services in the local area, make it clear how people can get in touch and be responsive to your ad replies.
#3. Experiment with Varied Content Types
Good content is the lifeblood of your Facebook Page. To keep your audience engaged, mix and match different content types to gauge their effectiveness:
a. Fun and Light-hearted Content: Inject some humour and personality into your posts. Share memes, jokes, or anecdotes that resonate with your audience.
b. Informative Blog Posts: Provide valuable insights and information related to your industry. Blog posts can establish your expertise and authority in your field as well as highlight to people that you are part of the local community.
c. Interactive Posts: Engage your audience with interactive content like polls, questions, and quizzes. These posts encourage participation and create a sense of community.
d. Video Content: Embrace the popularity of video by creating visually appealing videos. Videos of you walking dogs, playing with cats and meeting with your team.
e. Local News: Share local events and news and make your page a hub of information for pet lovers in your local area.
When you start to adopt these strategies you should measure what is working best for your audience. Don’t focus just on the likes and instead monitor how many actual enquiries are coming from Facebook and converting to customers.
