In an age of fluid Facebook rules and formats, small business owners often struggle to maximize its potential to reach prospective customers.
Want to find a list of the people who liked your business page? Unless you’re prescient enough to search under “banned users,” you probably won’t locate it, said Judith Lee, a social media expert.
Speaking at the Southern Chester County Chamber of Commerce (SCCCC) Women in Business Breakfast on Wednesday, Oct. 1, Lee presented “Five Things You Don’t Know About Facebook,” a topic that prompted a host of questions. Lee is the founder of Communication Works Now, an Atglen-based business that specializes in social-media marketing.
Helping to demystify the social media giant, Lee explained that Facebook’s fastest growing demographic is people over 55.
“They want to see pictures of their grandchildren,” she said.
She said experts recommend 10 to 20 posts a week on a business Facebook page. However, she labeled that an unrealistic number for small businesses that don’t have a social media staff or a stable of interns.
Three to five well-chosen posts a week can be effective, she said, ideally before 6 a.m. and after 9 p.m. It also helps to know that the heaviest Facebook traffic occurs on Thursday and Friday. “My theory is that people are goofing off at work,” Lee said.
To facilitate a steady stream of content, she recommended scheduling posts in advance, a feature that involves clicking on the clock face that appears on the left bottom of the post box. It will enable users to choose the date and time. To review what’s scheduled, click on the activity tab at the top of the page and scroll down to “scheduled posts.”
Lee also advocated keeping an important post at the top of the page. To accomplish this, put the cursor over the dropdown arrow at the right top of the post. Select “pin to top,” and the post will stay in the top spot for seven days, a process that can be repeated, she said.
Since Facebook ads are priced out of reach for most small business owners, a more affordable option is “boosting a post.” Lee said business owners can decide how much they want to spend, and Facebook will estimate how many users you’ll reach for that amount, giving you the option of choosing a targeted audience — selected by country, gender, age, or interests — or friends and their friends. For example, “$30 could bring a lot of new people to your site,” she said.
And if you want to review those people who have liked your page, click on the settings tab at the top of the page, scroll down to “banned users” and click on it. That will bring up a box at the top of the page that says “banned.” Use that dropdown menu to select “People Who Like This” or “Pages Who Like This.”
Lee said it took some time to figure out that process, theorizing that: “Facebook doesn’t want us to have that information.”
She acknowledged that navigating the Facebook network can be daunting. When business owners have questions, Google and YouTube typically offer the best search engines for answering them, she said.
On Thursday, Oct. 16, SCCCC will host its annual fall luncheon from 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. at Hartefeld National Golf Club. The topic will be “Election Perspectives: Facing the Challenges That Affect Your Bottom Line.” To learn more about SCCCC events, visit www.sccc.com.
