Jay Leonard
I am revisiting the way I use Facebook for our company. I think the hype is over regarding companies using Facebook to effectively reach clients.
I think Facebook has its pluses for certain types of companies like retail outlets, restaurants and organizations. It is really good for organizing events and communicating on-demand specials. It is also a great resource for keeping up with friends and family.
However for most businesses, it really is a place for broadcasting a little blurb, but it really lacks the professionalism to take it to the next level.
In the past three years, I have made close to 12 direct sales on Facebook for a total of approximately $200.00. I have tried online store fronts, company pages, advertisements, (very expensive).
I am not alone here. GM recently spent $10 Million on Facebook Ads before it recently stopped.
For me, Facebook is just a communication channel to put a link to our company blog post and add a few articles here and there.
What about engagement?
Have you ever checked out Facebook during a normal business day? I am sure most of you would not want to admit this, but I am sure you have. Do you think business professionals want to have a dialogue on Facebook about your business products or services? Explain this conversation to your boss.
How I use Facebook
1. Facebook is a way to stay connected by “quickly” checking out happenings with local organizations, businesses and events in your local area. In addition, if you have “liked” a particular company, you may also learn a thing or two about the company that could be helpful in a future conversation.
2. If I am checking out a potential employee, I am looking for any “red flags” that could warn me that this candidate’s personal life could be an issue.
3. Read, but don’t comment. I don’t want to get dragged into some type of dialogue that could have a negative impact on our business. Chick-Fil-A comes to mind.
4. My advice is to be careful and cautious. Would you want your name to appear in a newspaper editorial without your approval, that is exactly what Facebook is to me and for me, it’s all about value and right now Facebook for me is a good online editorial page and that is about all. More harm could occur than good.
I would be curious if there are some companies who have found tremendous success with Faebook. I know there are some successes out there and maybe we can all learn from your particular example. Please share.
This article was written for Business 2 Community by Jay Leonard.
Learn how to publish your content on B2C
Join our Telegram channel to stay up to date on breaking news coverage
Add B2C to your Google News Feed
Brent! Excellent post. I’m using Facebook in a very similar manner. And liking Facebook to the editorial page is so accurate. I’m also anxious to hear of Facebook success stories from other B2B’s because myself and fellow colleagues are decreasing the time spent on Facebook and migrating to LinkedIn. Great post.
Lisa
Thanks for your comments. I think we will see more posts like this from people who are looking for ways to maximize their ROI. Social Media is one part of the mix.
Brent
A good strategy is offering through your fan page special discounts and offers. In fact, different surveys state that this is the main reason fans “like” a page”