Recently I had the opportunity to attend the Facebook Fit event in Chicago. Designed to help small businesses use Facebook to drive success and growth, this event drew a varied crowd, from established business owners to emerging startups to entrepreneurs with freshly formed ideas. Let’s take a look at some of these Facebook business best practices.
The energy was high in the room of 100 attendees, even Mayor Rahm Emmanuel stopped by to kick off the afternoon session and show his support for Chicago’s small businesses. Technology expert Mario Armstrong introduced Facebook’s Director of Small Business, Dan Levy, who shared examples of how Facebook has driven real results for real businesses. Small business expert and best-selling author Rhonda Abrams hosted a diverse panel of 4 businesses, leading a discussion of best practices.
Facebook Business Best Practices
- Morgan Miller Plumbing uses Facebook to tell their brand story and build trust within the community. Not only do they find new customers through their engaging content, they also find new team members.
- The Silver Fox, an event venue in Streator, IL, two hours west of Chicago, uses Facebook to take their audience behind the scenes. On Facebook, they shared their renovation’s progress starting from day one to the day they opened 6 months later. Even before they opened, customers were making reservations based on their story on their Facebook page.
- Divas Snowgear, a wholesale distribution company, uses Facebook ads to reach their niche market of women interested in snowmobiling. They’ve been able to expand beyond US borders to Canada, Europe, and soon, Russia.
- Lou Malnati’s, the famous Chicago deep dish pizza chain, uses Facebook to show their family culture and to run contests, ultimately increasing brand engagement and bringing customers into their restaurants. They also address complaints posted to their page, providing a public acknowledgement and then taking the conversation offline.
While each business seems very different, there were three underlying best practices:
- Tell your brand story with engaging content. Use the 80/20 rule: 80% of your content should tell your story, 20% can be promotional or product/service related.
- Understand your target audience and how they relate to you.
- Invest the time and energy into your social media efforts, and keep at it. It takes time and continuous effort to build your brand.
After the panel, Facebook team member hosted breakout sessions for growing in-store sales, growing online sales, and increasing engagement with your Facebook page. Here are the top tips the Facebook team shared:
Facebook Page Tips
- Post new content 3-5 times per week, at most once a day
- Complete the “About” section info
- Make the most of the profile picture and banner
Facebook Advertising Tips
- Narrow your targeting
- Track conversions
- Optimize CPM
- Create custom & lookalike audiences
Event sponsors Intuit, LegalZoom, and Square wrapped up the afternoon with breakout sessions with tips for small businesses on marketing, business strategy, legal services, finance management and more. All in all, Facebook Fit was a half-day packed with insights and advice for small businesses to use Facebook to achieve success, and a great place to network and swap stories with other small businesses.
