Updated May 30, 2021
It’s been my experience that many business owners either don’t know that they can use Facebook™ or don’t care to change to the modern era of marketing. Can someone really use Facebook™ to attract consumers? Get more customers?
Using Facebook™ and other Social Networks are the modern day equivalent of having a Yellow Pages listing from the ’90s and before, except it’s free. If used properly and within their guidelines, you can leverage the sheer volume of people being in one place and find ways to attract them to your business.
If you’re wondering what over 60 people had to say about businesses wanting a website and social media, check out this article where I show you data proving what people want in a business.
How to Leverage Your Social Profile
This is going to get very comprehensive, so I hope you’re prepared to take good notes!
To be honest, most people will not get passed this stage. Reason being is that most people are consumers of Social Media content. In order for this to work best, you’ll have to remove yourself from being said consumer and become a producer of Social Media content.
What are Consumers and Producers of Social Media?
Have you ever woken up in the morning, and before your feet hit the floor, you check your social? You’re consuming content. Being on social media is the black-hole of time consumption. It has to be eliminated as much as possible, if not completely. At least while you build your business. We’ll go over tips later in this article on ways you can do this.
So, what’s a producer of content? As the name suggests, you start producing content and posting it on your profile and page for others to consume. This is a productive use of time because these posts will be the catalyst in you acquiring customers. I’m going to show you ways you can produce this content for free in the following articles, so you wont have to go looking for it.
In this article, we’ll focus on Facebook™.
Leverage Your Profile, NOT PAGE
Did I hear a few of you moan or cringe? If so, well, TOO BAD. If you want to make this work, you have to begin with the people you know. Chances are that your customers are lingering somewhere on Facebook™.
Keep in mind that I’m not going to have you call all of your friends and family and ask them for referrals like a cheap MLM. Instead, you’re going to optimize your profile so that anyone that visits will know exactly what you do.
But what does that mean?! It’s not as hard as you think.
To begin with, you’ll update the five major things that people will see first when they visit your profile.
- Cover Art
- Profile Picture
- Bio Statement
- Work History
- Content
Cover Art
We’ll use my own profile as an example. My cover art has a picture of my daughter watching my computer while I work (keep in mind I regularly change my cover image, so it may be different when you go see it). Most of my work is done online and is relevant to what I do. Likewise, I would do the same with your own service. So, if you’re a painter and work with a team, a team picture at a residence would be great. If you’re a tutor, a picture of yourself helping a student on a zoom call (just make sure you have permission). Something that is relevant to what you do.
Profile Picture
Let me ask you this question. Would you hire someone that has a profile picture of themselves chugging a beer? Acting a fool? Twerking? Probably not. I would prefer to hire someone that looks like they have their act together. Going back to the examples above, a picture of your in what you normally wear to go painting (but clean) would be a good profile picture. A picture of yourself in a “business casual” outfit would work well for a tutor. Are you starting to see a pattern? Let’s go on.
Bio Statement
What do you do? “Chug chug chug ’till I black out then chug chug some more!” No. Just, no. You have to use something that makes sense for your industry. Look at mine. “Dad || People Helper || Problem Solver” It’s personal but has an idea of what I do. So, what do you do? And can you portray that in less than 101 characters? ???? Consider this your “elevator pitch”. If you’re a Real Estate agent, your bio statement can be “I help you get top dollar for your home while you sit back and relax.”
Work History
Sure, you may have had 32 jobs before the one you’re trying to attempt. Why would you confuse the world by showing off that fact? This may be similar to a resume, but it’s not. So, what do you put? Let me ask you this, what do you do? “Tutor at Jane Doe Tutoring” or “Mover at John Doe Moving”. What do you not want to put? “CEO at Tutoring ‘R Us” or “President at Movers ‘R Us”. Why not? Well, you’re NOT a CEO to begin with! You don’t have an incorporated business (yet), you don’t have a website (yet) and you don’t have any staff (yet)! Don’t try to be something you’re not. People will read through it.
Content
Okay, so this is the part where I’ll probably lose many of you. That’s okay though, because if you refuse to do this, you may not reach your goal of attracting clients.
NO POLITICAL POSTS & DELETE ALL POLITICAL POSTS
NO MORE CUSSING & DELETE ALL POSTS WITH CUSSING
There are people that will not use your services because of opposing political beliefs. There are people that will attribute cussing with being non-professional. For now, remove it all and don’t post about it! Keep it professional with a slight touch of personal (pictures of family and friends, motivating quotes, etc). This will not be forever. For now, stick with this formula and it will help your reputation get out farther, faster.
Tools
If you want to create some impressive artwork for your cover, featured image, and even your profile picture, head on over to Canva.com. Their free platform is easy to learn and has tons of examples that you can use.
A Brief Reminder
Remember that on your profile you do NOT want to sell. You use your profile as a way to invite people to your website, page, group, other social networks, etc. You have to build that relationship! Don’t forget that!
COMMUNITY AND WHY IT MATTERS TO YOUR BUSINESS
Now, let me paint a picture for you. In your community, you’re a restaurant, legal firm, pizzeria, or some other kind of business in a city that you may or may not live in. You do okay, make enough to pay the bills, but you love what you do! Word-of-mouth is the only way you’ve known to get business. You may or may not have used the yellow pages, but it hasn’t really worked. With the growing influence of the Internet, you’re not sure what to do to properly use it to make it work for you and your business. So what can you do?
Look For Your Community on Facebook™
If you’re not used to using the Internet for anything else but seeing cat, dog, or d.i.y. videos, then you’re really missing out on the power of Facebook™. Did you know that over ONE BILLION people are eligible to see your businesses advertisements? Lets narrow that down to a city in Los Angeles County, Pasadena.
Okay, but HOW Do I Reach Them?
There are many ways you can reach your community. When using Facebook™, these are the methods you can use to reach people.
- Using Facebook™ Ads
- Your Local City Group(s)
- Creating Your Own Group
- Your Business Page
- Your Personal Profile
We’ve already focused on your profile. In this post, we’ll focus on Groups next and talk about the others on another article.
Facebook Groups
Most cities, big or small, will have a group associated with it. Every group has its own set of rules so you have to make sure to abide by them. You don’t want to take advantage of them as they can be the lifeline of your local business.
How to Find Groups
It’s really easy to find a Facebook group or lots of groups! When you’re on your desktop, on the top left, do a search for “City, State”. In the example above, I used “Lancaster, PA”.
There are many groups in this case. Click into the group and read their rules to see if it’s a good fit.
Some will allow you to post about your business whenever you want (within reason), some only on Saturday’s. It’s your responsibility to know the rules and abide by them.
Take Interest In The People
If you decide to join a group, it’s a good idea to introduce yourself and then comment to some posts from other members.
Share your wins, showcase your product, offer help with your knowledge, and then respond to a few personal posts as well.
Don’t Take Sides in Facebook Groups
You’re not in any group to take sides. Political or otherwise. Stay away, FAR AWAY, from politics. Don’t take sides on personal battles in a group. Show your personality but I really recommend eliminating the swearing.
It’s all about the end result. That result is growing your business by growing your reputation. That’s what you do in groups.
What Strategy Should I Use?
There are many ways you can work your yourself and your business into public knowledge. Where people recommend you to others.
Give the above a shot and have fun learning! Now go out and join some Facebook groups!
