You may have heard that people do business with people that they know, like, and trust.

You may also have heard that you have to been on Facebook to grow your business and turn into a bajillionaire.

Naturally, you want to know if it’s true. After all, “everyone” can’t be wrong, can they?

So here’s the simple truth: Facebook is one way for your customers to get to know and like you.

 

The Big Picture

I personally don’t like the “know, like, trust” analogy. It doesn’t seem to quite fit the world of online marketing, where “knowing” someone is as likely as the chance of winning the lottery.

Instead, I like to break down the customer relationship process into three easy steps: find you, love your product, and support (ie buy from) you.

The process looks like this:

Every marketing platform you have ever heard of – TV ads, radio interviews, billboards, websites, email lists, social media sites, and YouTube – all fall into one (or sometimes two) of these categories.

 

The Power of Facebook

Facebook, like all social media platforms, is a communication channel. That means that Facebook fits into the “Love You” category.

What is the “Love You” category? Simply put, it’s how you establish that “like” factor that makes your clients comfortable around you and your products or services.

The analogy isn’t perfect, but think of the “love you” category like TV commercials – the whole point of a TV commercial is that you will see it enough times so that, when you’re in the grocery store, it will be a natural choice to purchase Coke, or Bounty, or what have you.

It’s very rare that a customer will make a purchase with you the first time they interact with you. But they will hopefully be interested enough in your products or services to want to continue to hear more about your business.

This is where Facebook comes in. These potential clients are already hanging out on Facebook, and you need a way to interact with them to further the relationship. Getting them to hit the like button on your Facebook page is often easier than getting their email address.

Going back to the TV commercial analogy, it’s just like saying: “My potential clients are already watching TV, so why don’t I remind them of who I am while they’re already doing that activity.”

This ability to keep the conversation going with your potential clients is the reason for all the hype around Facebook. It’s why other businesses and marketers will swear by it, and why you see “Like us on Facebook!” on every piece of signage.

 

A Communication Channel

Here’s the bad news: just being on Facebook isn’t enough to take advantage of this “getting to love you” factor. You have to work at building relationships with your potential clients, so that when the time is right for them to buy, you are the natural choice.

And unlike in the TV commercial analogy, you cannot build relationships with your potential clients if you stand on the proverbial street corner shouting about how great your business is over and over again. Your customers will get bored and walk away.

Your goal on Facebook is to keep people interested in your business. The best way to do that is to post a variety of resources and information on your page.

Here are 5 of the most popular things to post on your Facebook page. Notice that only 1 in 5 is directly related to your business’s products or services. The rest are designed to further your relationships with your potential clients by being helpful, amusing, and/or interesting.

 

Top 5 Types of Facebook Posts

• Behind the Scenes – people love to know what’s going on in your business
• Funny pictures & videos – images are worth a 1,000 words!
• Free resources – people love finding websites or software that make their lives easier or more efficient
• Client successes – nothing says “I’m awesome at what I do” better than a client’s success story
• Reminders about your services/products – you’re a business, after all. If no one knows what you have to sell, no one will buy from you

 

Final Thoughts

Facebook is an important piece of the “love you” puzzle. As the #1 social network in the world, the chances are good that your future clients are already hanging out there. Now, all you have to do is start hanging out with them!

One final note: as you begin to experiment with your Facebook page, remember that Facebook is a place for people to connect with people. If your post sounds canned or sales-y, it’s probably not going to get you the kind of traction you’re looking for.

~ Felicity

P.S. If you have a question about online marketing (websites, email lists, Facebook, Twitter, or social media), shoot me an email – I’d love to hear from you!

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