My Facebook Formula

Steve Angree

• Publisher: Bibliomundi
• Year: 2021
• ISBN:
  9781526044945
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Business
• Subtopic: Trading
• Index: Business

The internet and social media sites especially have led to the line between our social and professional lives blurring ever more with each passing day. Social media sites give people the opportunity to connect with old friends, make new ones and expand their professional network with only a few clicks, from the comfort of their own home.Social media sites have redefined the concept of globalization, which was the "in" word two decades ago for large corporations. Unfortunately for the latter, the current globalization concept has allowed businesses of all sizes to tap the benefits of being present in a wide number of markets.This is because the internet has become a business channel that is practically free and companies are no longer required to make massive investments in building an offline, local presence in whichever market they choose to expand into. In fact, why expand into a single geographical market, when one can access the world with a few clicks of the mouse?Of course, this doesn't mean that it's easy to compete against the giants, but, after all, why take on a giant when you can still build a profitable and sustainable business that will change your life and that of future generations of your family without competing directly with the giants.The one advantage you have, as a small business owner, over a large corporation is relationships. Yes, you heard right! You are more likely to spend time building relationships with your customers than any large corporation as they are mostly focused on their bottom line and ROI, overlooking strategies and tactics that may not convert into tangible results immediately. However, even the "big boys" are beginning to understand the value of social media sites and building relationships with their customers, which is why you need to jump on this train of opportunity before it passes you by.What you need to understand is that the change that has and is taking place is not in the core concepts of marketing, which are more applicable than ever, but in consumer behavior. You see, social media sites have given consumers a voice of their own and they are less likely to fall for advertising campaigns that cost millions to put together. Instead of rushing out to buy a brand new, shiny product, most consumers' first stop is their favorite social media website to research the product in question.For companies who simply "don't get" the social media space, this can be a killer. However, for those savvy entrepreneurs who understand the new consumer, this is a resource that can be leveraged to create an incredibly successful business.

My Facebook Marketing Plan

As with any business endeavor you need a plan and especially for your marketing strategy since you have so many options open to you that you would be hard pressed to keep track of everything without a plan to make sure you are heading in the right direction.

The Target Market

As already mentioned, the Facebook demographic is extremely diverse and you have the added advantage of being able to use people‟s profiles to further narrow your target market down. For example, if you want to target women aged 24 – 35 who live in the Midwest and love to crochet, Facebook makes it extremely easy to do. The advantage? You can be certain you aren’t wasting resources, whether money or time, on reaching a wide audience of which only a small percentage is actually your target market, as was often the case with traditional marketing channels.

Remember that the key to building a successful business is to have an excellent understanding of your target market. The more you know about them, the easier it will be to build a relationship with them.

Consumer behavior, in simple terms, is driven mainly by two desires, the first is to avoid pain and the second is to gain pleasure. However, pain avoidance carries much more weight. Therefore, the more you know of your audience and what pains them, the more you will be able to meet their needs by providing a solution to their pain. In fact, if you do your market research properly, you will be able to create a product that sells itself. This is where the power of knowing your target market truly lies.

What better way to build a relationship with your target market than through a social media platform that allows for so much interaction, like Facebook?

There are a few tools you can use to locate your target market. One of these is the Facebook Insight tool which provides information on the people visiting your page, including information such as their age and sex.

Establishing Your Marketing Goals

Facebook is an essential marketing tool that you need to integrate into your overall marketing strategy for the simple reason that you can glean a lot of information from your market. From product creation to feedback on your service, Facebook can be the ultimate market research tool, and you can achieve all this without paying a penny.

In essence, the core goal of any marketing campaign is to increase sales.

However, there are other aspects to increasing your sales which, initially, may not appear to be directly linked to increasing your profitability. But they are, and can boost your sales more effectively than even a Super Bowl advertising campaign.

These are building a brand, forming a community of prospects who are raving fans, providing customer service and receiving feedback on your business. These four aspects are vital to building a sustainable business model that will generate an income for you for many years.

The Power of Branding

A brand is basically the image of your business. It’s what sets you...