Mike Marko with IM Consultant Services in Cincinnati, Ohio, has published a new blog post talking about the top three benefits of Facebook for small business. He starts his blog off by debunking the belief that only big companies and brands can be successful with social media marketing. According to him, big brands seemingly dominate social networks like Facebook because they are more visible to the majority of users. In actuality, facebook marketing for small business can be just as beneficial and successful as Facebook marketing for larger companies. With his new blog, Marko aims to teach that to his readers.
"Small businesses shouldn't be afraid of getting on social media," says Marko. "Doing that actually greatly hinders your marketing success and business growth. All marketing strategies for small business should include a social media marketing strategy. This is because even small businesses can begin boosting their brand awareness and product exposure online."
While talking about how social media marketing should be part of a small business owner's marketing strategy, Marko also notes that Facebook is one of the best social media platforms to use. This is mostly because Facebook has over a billion active users every month. With that large a user base, a business owner's target audience is bound to be on Facebook. Because of this, small businesses shouldn't pass up the opportunity to use a platform where users who fit their buyer persona will most likely be listening.
However, Marko reminds his readers that Facebook's large userbase isn't there to only serve as an audience. According to him, Facebook's over 2.32 billion monthly active users can also help businesses extend their reach. A small business will have a higher chance of expanding to other locations and other users even during their early Facebook marketing days. This also means that small business owners will be able to connect with more partners.
That said, Marko wants his readers to remember that small business owners still need to put in some effort in order to properly use Facebook's user base and reach to their advantage. Firstly, he wants his readers to remember to reach out and connect with their consumers. A direct way to do so is through messages. Luckily, Facebook has implemented a feature where users can message business pages and see how often and how fast they usually reply to messages. Keeping a business page's reply time up can even benefit a business because it reassures consumers that they can expect an immediate reply.
Business owners can even choose to create content that encourages their followers to have discussions or leave replies. With replies coming in from their consumers, business owners can then comment back to them to encourage engagement again. Marko also states that business owners can keep conversations running by creating a Facebook group related to their business. Through this Facebook group, people interested in their business can join and have more conversations with business owners or other consumers.
Relationships built by these interactions can then be the foundation of a business owner's network. Not only can it bring in paying customers, but it can even establish legitimacy for a business because more people, consumers and partners, can vouch for them.
An open line of communication and connection also sets up the perfect environment for customer support. As Marko has mentioned, Facebook allows users to message business pages and see how soon they can get a response. This means that consumers can have their concerns heard easily on Facebook. They will also be able to figure out when they can get help to attend to their needs.
However, Marko was keen to remind his readers to remain professional and polite when talking to consumers through Facebook messaging. The way a business owner interacts with their consumer will greatly affect their legitimacy and business quality. And if a business is able to provide easy customer service, Marko says that that can help a business attain customer loyalty.
Next, Marko talks about how Facebook can help with business growth and improvement. This is mostly because of the open line of communication that Marko has previously mentioned. Given frequent interactions with consumers, business owners will actually be able to easily gather helpful data. The data can include positive feedback on things that business owners can continue doing or negative feedback that tells them what they should work on in order to improve. Clients will even be able to suggest other services that a business can begin to offer in order to gain more patronage.
Other than that, Marko also talks about how Facebook can help build brand visibility for small businesses. Since they are just starting out, small businesses will need all the help that they can get from social media platforms. With Facebook's reach and userbase, business owners can produce content that can help get the word out about their services and products.
Finally, Marko talks about how Facebook can generate leads for businesses. This is because 78% of US consumers actually use Facebook to look for retail products. This means that a great number of business page followers can turn into actual paying customers for small businesses. This can all start through simple Facebook page suggestions to potential consumers, leading towards a business page.
Marko has a lot of similar blogs about Facebook marketing for small business and social media marketing in general on his website. However, he also wants his readers to know that he and his team at IM Consultant Services also offer other services that can help small business owners grow their business. If a small business owner struggles with their marketing strategy, Marko and his team can offer solutions that they can try. They can even help business owners with problems that they have outside of social media marketing, such as handling and designing their website.
So, if a business owner wants to read about more tips that Marko has to offer, they can visit his website. They can even contact him for a free consultation that can last for up to 30-60 minutes if they want to test his services. All they have to do is look for the contact details he has on his website.
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For more information about IM Consultant Services, contact the company here:
IM Consultant Services
Mike Marko
513-580-4598
info@imconsultantservices.com
PO Box 62451 Cincinnati, OH 45262
