I'm delighted to announce that 'Facebook Inspiration' is now listed on Amazon. I wrote Facebook Inspiration especially for business owners who don't have a marketing department, but know that they cannot afford to ignore social media.
Did you know that you can prepare posts for Facebook and schedule them to be published later? With Facebook’s handy scheduling feature, you can ensure your posts get maximum exposure by sharing them at the perfect time for your audience. This may not necessarily be the same time you’re creating your marketing content, if you're a night owl like me.
It doesn’t matter what type of content you’re sharing, the procedure for scheduling is the same. You can share a simple text update, a photo, a video or a blog link. In this example I'll walk you through seven simple steps for sharing a plain text update. Next time I'll show you how to share a link to a blog post you've written.
Facebook business pages are a low-risk way for you to market your business. All you need is a profile photo and a cover photo for your page and you're ready to go. You should add your full contact details to the About page right away, but you can incorporate further information, such as Awards and Products, later.
Success is the sum of details. - Harvey S. Firestone
Since you don't need to invest a huge amount of time to start, a Facebook page is a must for any business. But creating a business page is only the first step. Next you must focus on creating a community of Facebook followers who appreciate your posts and find them valuable.
One of my favourite quotes from the book Oversubscribed by Daniel Priestley is:
What do you stand for? What do you stand against ?
Our values determine the direction we take and the decisions we make in our business. If you’re confident about the value you provide to your clients, those who value what you stand for will choose to work with you.
Businesses that are unclear about their value are easy to recognise. Their online marketing is smothered with hashtags, like hundreds and thousands. The content looks interesting, but it's a bit of a mess. Used sparingly, however, hashtags add a sprinkling of clarity to your messages on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
As a new, small business owner you know you need to market your business. How can potential customers buy from you, if they don't know you exist? But what if you don't have the budget right now for the professional website you dream of?
If your budget is limited and you don't have a website, there's still one way you can promote your services. Whether you live in Berkshire, in Buckinghamshire or indeed the Outer Hebrides, you can use one fabulous marketing platform for free: Facebook.
Effective marketing demonstrates your value to customers in a simple, clear way. Facebook is one of the best tools available for communicating with consumers. It's easily accessible, most people use it and its established ethos of liking, sharing and commenting is perfect for small businesses intent on raising their profile.