Young mothers are one of Facebook’s fastest growing and most active demographics
In fact, Mashable reports that mothers with children under 5 are twice as likely as the general population to log into social media 3-4 times a day, and are more vocal
participants when they do, posting and commenting twice as often as everyone else. This behavior correlates with a higher tendency to shop via mobile devices, especially iPads. With mothers making up so much of the audience on social media and in social commerce, it’s no surprise that a growing number of mompreneurs are building businesses by selling products on Facebook.
But it takes more than just creating a business page if you want to be successful with selling on Facebook. It requires a commitment to not only provide a quality
product or service, but to also build strong relationships with people who visit your page.
Below are 5 tips that will help you with using Facebook to grow your business.
- Your Facebook page should be a hub of activity for your business. Posting eye-catching images, clever short videos and carefully written, short posts will get you noticed – bringing you new fans who click your Like buttons.Tip: Review your current Facebook page (or your brand new one). Ask yourself what you could do to turn a prospect into a repeat visitor. Check out the Facebook page of a company you admire; get inspired.
- Host an inventive contest. Remember the Lay’s contest where fans got to propose new flavors for their delicious potato chips? Facebook reports that 3.64 million people entered the Lay’s contest in 12 weeks. Oh, and Lay’s posted general sales increased – for the first time in six years.Tip: Put time into planning your contest – think about its execution, its timing and, yes, its prizes. With Facebook making changes that allow more flexibility in how businesses run their contents, a good option to increase your page fans and likes is by using a simple like-this-post-to-enter contest.
- If you’re a local business, show your Facebook community that you care about your physical community. Use your Facebook page to shout out your support for a worthy cause or to showcase people within the neighborhood that are doing good. Why? Facebook fans feel good about business pages that show their connection to community, on a small or large scale.Tip: If a local chapter of the Girl Guides is holding a car wash in your neighborhood, offer to publicize it for free. Follow-up with a photo of the event and the profit earned.
- Make it ridiculously easy for your customers to buy your products on Facebook. That’s right, there is an app named Soldsie that can make this happen. How does it work? You connect Soldsie to your Facebook page. You post a description and image of a product. You also post a simple instruction, telling your customers that they can buy the product by typing “sold” in the comments field. Soldsie automatically sends an invoice to the customer’s email account and the sale is underway. This type of in-stream commerce leads to increased conversion rates for you since the barrier of entry for Tip: Post clean, clear images of your products and complete, easy-to-read descriptions. Your customers must clearly see what they are about to buy.
- Offer exclusive content or items to your page visitors to reward them for their interest and loyalty. This could include limited edition products that can only be purchased from your Facebook store or the ability for your Facebook Fans to get in on new product launches become they become available on your ecommerce website.Tip: To make the most of the special offer that you’re giving to your Facebook Fans, make sure to build anticipation of your products products by sharing special insider information that can only be obtained by people who are Facebook Fans. Also try offering special Fan-only discounts for when these new products become available.
There are many ways to use your Facebook business page to grow your business. It’s important to find ways to engage with your fans to help your Facebook page stand out and drive more business. Remember to also showcase the quality of your service and why it matters to be a part of your page community.
Do you have any tips that you’ve used to help grow your business? Let us know in the comments below.
About the author:
| Emily is a mother of two and is in the middle of getting her MBA at NYU Stern. When she isn’t busy with her children or classes, she works on her fashion line.You can read her blog at http://www.strivingforsimple.com |
These are some great tips! Thanks for sharing. Having it be the ‘hub’ can be tricky, but in the end pays off big!
Hello Emily,
One of the reasons Facebook can be such an asset to do business online is due to the social atmosphere that thrives there. Although Facebook is predominantly considered to be a social tool, using the platform properly can do wonders for your business. Sharing content and information within the group discussion board and network with other group members can help to build relationships and exchange ideas.